On the old TV show Bewitched, there was a character named Mrs. Cravitz. Mrs. Cravitz sat by her blinds, watching outside for anything that didn’t look normal. and would yell for her husband, Abner, every time she had something to report. If I were to pick a character that dominates the media now, it would be Mrs. Cravitz. We seemingly can’t get enough gossip. The more famous the person, the more gossip. We have TV shows dedicated to celebrity gossip. We have websites dedicated to gossip. We have collectively taken the attitude that, “if you have nothing nice to say about anybody, come sit next to me.”

The type of gossip I am talking about is what we call calumny and detraction. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, one who commits detraction is one who “without objectively valid reason, discloses another’s faults and failings to persons who did not know them” and one who commits calumny is one who, “by remarks contrary to the truth, harms the reputation of others and gives occasion for false judgments concerning them” (CCC 2477).

Gossip is an act in which we seek to destroy the reputation of another person for whatever reason. Many times, gossip is a passive-aggressive form of vengeance. Sometimes gossip is done for pure blood-sport. This is especially true in politics. Gossip is done as a way of distracting people from the problems the gossiper has. Sometimes it is done to position oneself as better in the eyes of others, to get some worldly prize. Whatever reason it is done, it is a sin against charity.

Both calumny and detraction rely on a third leg for this dismal and demonic trifecta: rash judgement. The Catechism refers to one who commits rash judgement as one “who, even tacitly, assumes as true, without sufficient foundation, the moral fault of a neighbor” (CCC 2477). To engage in gossip is to act as if we expect the absolute worst, in motivations and actions, from the person being gossiped about. Furthermore, it is a sin against Jesus’ teaching.  In Matthew 18:15-20, gossiping about one who has sinned, or appears to have sinned, is NOT one of the steps of fraternal correction. As followers of Christ, we are to seek the conversion of those who have sinned, not their public ridicule. It is most difficult to inspire conversion through destroying another person’s good name.

This becomes mortally sinful with lies, when either through unwarranted speculation or outright maleficence, the gossip is not true. One then sins against the 8th Commandment: “Thou shall not bear false witness”.

We see this in the Church with great regularity. Many times, in Catholic social media and in the blogosphere, we see stories that are little more than exercises in rash judgement, detraction, and calumny. As a priest, I would say that gossip is all too often an occupational hazard among clerics. I know I can justify it from time to time. I can sound like a not-to-be-named nineties TV character who said, “I don’t gossip. Maybe sometimes I find out things or hear something and I pass that information on… You know…kind of like a public service.” We can make all kinds of excuses for our gossip. It is sinful.

People come to me and ask, “When is it considered gossip?” My first question is, “Have you talked to that person about this?” That would be the first step in the scriptural method for fraternal correction. Second, I ask if you are seeking that person’s conversion or humiliation. If it is the former, then you need to talk to that person per the teachings of Christ. If it is the latter, then sin is incurred. In short, we should cultivate charity within our own heart. Jesus warns us that the “measure you use against others will be the same measure that will be used on you” (Matthew 7:2). If we spent the time we waste on gossip, praying for the good of the person we gossip about, we would find ourselves in a much holier and peaceful place.

Now, please excuse me as I contemplate all possible meanings of “Physician heal thyself.” (From “Let Freedom Ring[1]“)

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