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Pope: Gossip kills and those who gossip are terrorists

The eighth commandment  "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” not just about lies, but "it means to live as children of God". Let us ask ourselves: what truth do the works, words, choices of Christians attest to?".

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The eighth commandment  "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” not just about lies, but "it means to live as children of God, allowing every act show that God is Father and we can trust Him ", explained Pope Francis at today's general audience in which he returned to condemn "gossip" which he said "kills".

Continuing in the catechesis dedicated to the Commandments, to the 20 thousand people present in St. Peter's Square, Francis recalled that the Catechism "forbids falsifying the truth in relations with others" (No. 2464). "Living in non-authentic communications - he added - is serious because it prevents relationships and, therefore, love. And when we talk about communication between people we mean not only words, but also deeds, attitudes, even silences and absences. A person speaks with all he is and does. We all live by communicating and we are constantly poised between truth and lies ".

"But what does telling the truth mean? Does it mean being honest? Or exact? In reality, this is not enough, because one can be sincerely mistaken, or one can be precise in detail but not grasp the meaning of the whole. Sometimes we justify ourselves by saying, 'But I said what I felt!' Yes, but you have absolutized your point of view. Or: 'I only told the truth!'. Maybe, but you've revealed some personal or confidential facts. How much gossip destroys communion because of inappropriateness or lack of delicacy! Moreover: gossip kills and this was said by the apostle James in his Letter. The gossiper, the gossipers are people who kill: kill others, because the tongue kills like a knife. Be careful. A gossiper is a terrorist, because with his tongue he throws the bomb and leaves, and this thing that he says, that bomb that destroys other peoples’ reputation, and he goes away quietly. Do not forget: to gossip is to kill ".

The truth, then, is in the answer given by Jesus to Pilate: "Jesus says:" This is why I was born and for this I came into the world: to bear witness to the truth "(Jn 18,37). And this "testimony" Jesus gives it with his passion and his death ". "Truth finds its full realization in the person of Jesus (cf. Jn 14: 6), in his way of living and dying, fruit of his relationship with the Father. This existence as children of God, He, risen, also gives it to us by sending the Spirit of truth, which attests to our hearts that God is our Father (cf. Rom 8:16). In every one of his actions man affirms or denies this truth. From small everyday situations to the most demanding choices. But it is the same logic: that which parents and grandparents teach us when they tell us not to lie. The same logic. Let us ask ourselves: what truth do the works, words, choices of Christians attest to? Everyone can ask themselves: am I a witness to the truth, or am more or less a liar disguised as a man? Everyone ask themselves this. Christians are not exceptional men and women. But we are children of the heavenly Father, who is good and does not disappoint, and fills our hearts with love for others. This truth is not so much said with discourses, it is a way of existing and is seen in every single act. This man is a real man, that woman is a real woman: you see. But how, if they do not open their mouth? No, but they behave like true people. He says the truth, he acts with the truth. A nice way to live, for us".

"Truth is the marvelous revelation of God, of His Father's face, is His boundless love. This truth corresponds to human reason but overcomes it infinitely, because it is a gift descended on earth and incarnated in Christ crucified and risen; it is made visible by those who belong to it and reveal it in their attitude ". "It is from our trust in God that He is a Father and He loves me, He loves us, my truth is born and the will to be truthful and not a liar".

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