The first, commendable contribution of one of our new militants
Of Luca Sbroffoni
Don Carlo Tommaso Dragone (Requiem…) -in “Explanation of the Catechism of Saint Pius. For catechists”, CLS-, offers us a definition of some bad actions that unfortunately reign supreme in society (media, politics, ecc.) and also in the “traditionalist” microcosm, certainly favored by a reckless use of social media, in which everyone, behind a keyboard, he can undisturbed attack everything and everyone, condemn, judge, without a minimum of fraternal Christian charity.
So let's see what Father Dragone tells us about it: “It is a sin of slander when you attribute to others faults or defects that they do not have, or the ones he has are exaggerated... Slander is a serious fault when he falsely attributes serious faults to others, or even light but which cause serious damage…
Deduction -Father Dragone continues- “means to deduct, take something away from your neighbor's good name, revealing real flaws and shortcomings, without necessity; the deduction is also called murmur. When untrue sins and defects are attributed to others, there is slander; when real sins and defects are attributed to absent people, there is deduction or murmuring; when finally a sin or defect is accused of a person present, there is contumelia. The deduction that unnecessarily spreads knowledge of serious faults, it is a grave sin; if of light sins, it's venial. It is permissible to express the evil of others when there is a just reason, how to avoid damage to third parties…
Explaining judgment and reckless suspicion, he states: “A reckless judgment is considering a neighbor's sin as certain and certain, but without foundation...Reckless judgment is a serious sin when it seriously injures the good reputation of one's neighbor...Reckless suspicion consists in doubting without foundation that one's neighbor has done harm. It can be a mortal sin when very serious faults are attributed to others.”
Sins of slander, murmuring, deduction, reckless judgment and suspicion, they are closely linked to the vice of pride. Always taking advantage of the comment on “Catechism of Saint Pius. For catechists”, Let's now go to the part relating to Christian morality to analyze this capital vice.
Father Dragone comments: “Pride is an excessive self-esteem and an immoderate desire for one's own excellence. The proud man trusts in himself (presumption), he values ​​only himself (vanagloria), he wants to be admired and praised (ambition), he hides his flaws so that others think he is better than he is (hypocrisy), he is attached to his own ideas and does not give in to others (obstinacy), he cannot tolerate submitting to others or even to superiors (disobedience).”
The virtue opposite to pride is humility, which - explains Father Dragone- “tends to recognize oneself for what one is, attributes merit and one's good qualities to God (truth), avoid vainglory and want others to respect us for who we are, he is satisfied with last place and aspires to it, She recognizes her wrongs and is grateful for the benefits she has received. The humble is also obedient to superiors, respects others whom he considers better than himself, distrusts himself, he does not seek honors and distinctions, does not hide its weaknesses. Humility is the negative foundation of all the other virtues: the humble is willing to believe, he hopes for the necessary help from God, he is charitable and obedient. Humility is essential for salvation, because God reserves his grace for the humble and demands that we become children to be admitted to heaven.”
Bene, after a little healthy review of the catechism of the Catholic Church, let's see what the Gospel offers us on judgment.
Let's start with Matthew VII,1-2: “Don't judge, so that you are not judged. For according to the judgment by which you judge, you will be judged: and with the measure by which you have measured, it will be remeasured to you.” This is how P. comments on these verses. Marco M. Salts O. P. (Requiem…): “After having encouraged his disciples to escape from vainglory and the excessive attack on the things of this world, Jesus now exhorts them to keep away from that itch to criticize and condemn all the actions of others, which formed one of the characteristics of the Pharisees. The forbidden judgment is that which consists in thinking badly of one's neighbor without foundation, in sinisterly interpreting his actions, and in condemning him out of a spirit of hatred or envy. Jesus wants us not to be harsh and perverse judges of our neighbors, in order to deserve mercy and forgiveness in God's judgment; for what will be the judgment that we have pronounced on our neighbor, such will be what God will pronounce about us.
Let us now turn to Luke VI,36-39: “Therefore be merciful, how merciful your Father is. Don't judge, and you will not be judged: do not condemn and you will not be condemned; forgive me, and you will be forgiven. Date, and it will be given to you: right size, pressed, shock, and full will be poured into your bosom: because with the same measure with which you will have measured, it will be remeasured to you. A simile spoke more to them: It is perhaps possible for the blind to lead the blind? They will not both fall into the pit?”
Sales explains it this way: “The law of Christian love commands not only to love, but it still forbids us to judge sinisterly and condemn our neighbor, and he wants you to forgive if you want to get forgiveness from God. This metaphor indicates the reward that will be received by the person who has shown kindness to his neighbor. Who wants to judge others and reprimand them, must be beyond reproach, otherwise it is blind guidance of a blind man.”
Let's return to Matthew at chapter VII verses 3-5: “And why do you observe the speck in your brother's eye, and you don't see the plank in your eye? Or as you tell your brother: Let me take the straw out of your eye, while you have a beam in your eye? Hypocritical, first take the beam out of your eye, and then you will see that you can remove the straw from your brother's eye.” Comments P. Sales: “With these two metaphors we can see the contradiction of those who pretend to be animated by the desire for good, they censure the small shortcomings of others, and they don't think at all about amending their defects, which are very serious.”
The San Luca pass 6,41-42 it is very similar to Mt. VII,3-5. Mons. Antonio Martini (Requiem…) comments Saint Luke: “Here he takes up the vice of those who are not happy to blame and condemn their neighbors, being themselves guilty and worthy of blame and condemnation; but the smallest faults of others they exaggerate without mercy, and they do not know their own very serious mistakes. And Jesus rightly calls them hypocrites, because they want to make people believe that they are moved by a zeal for justice, when they are not moved except by a spirit of pride; for if they loved justice, they would first condemn themselves, and they would turn their zeal against their own sins.”
This little insight is certainly not exhaustive, but it can be useful to all of us (a me in primis) to direct us to think, always speak and act with humility, and remind us that, if it is true that two of the spiritual works of mercy are "correcting sinners" and "teaching the ignorant", it is also true that it must always be done with love and fraternal charity. To conclude these miserable lines, I report the words of a saint - how important it is to read the lives or works of the saints!-, Saint Francis de Sales in “Introduction to the devout life”, which thus deals with judgment and slander.
“Rash judgment causes concern, contempt for others, pride and self-satisfaction and a hundred other negative effects, among which the first place goes to slander, real plague of conversations. I would like to have a burning coal from the holy altar to pass it on the lips of men, to take away their perversity and cleanse them from their sin, just like the Seraph did on the mouth of Isaiah. If we could remove slander from the world, most of the sins and wickedness would disappear. To those who unjustly snatch the good name of others, in addition to the sin with which he is burdened, the obligation remains to make adequate reparation according to the type of slander committed. No one can enter Heaven carrying other people's goods; no, among all external goods, the most precious is the good name. Backbiting is real murder, because three are our lives: spiritual life, based in the grace of God; bodily life, based in the soul; civil life which consists in a good name. Sin takes the first away from us, death takes the second away from us, backbiting deprives us of the third. The slanderer, with a single blow from the tongue, commits three crimes. It spiritually kills one's soul, that of the one who listens and takes away the civil life of the one he speaks ill of. Dice S. Bernardo is the one who gossips as well as the one who listens to the slanderer, they have the devil upon them, one on the tongue and the other in the ear. Davide, referring to slanderers he says: They have sharpened their tongues like those of serpents.”