Q. 1307.  What is a lie?  A. A lie is a sin committed by knowingly saying what is untrue with the intention of deceiving.  To swear to a lie makes the sin greater, and such swearing is called perjury.  Pretense, hypocrisy, false praise, boasting, &c., are similar to lies.

Q. 1308.  How can we know the degree of sinfulness in a lie?  A. We can know the degree of sinfulness in a lie by the amount of harm it does and from the intention we had in telling it.

Q. 1309.  Will a good reason for telling a lie excuse it?  A. No reason, however good, will excuse the telling of a lie, because a lie is always bad in itself.  It is never allowed, even for a good intention to do a thing that is bad in itself.

Q. 1310. {380} What is forbidden by the eighth Commandment?  A. The eighth Commandment forbids all rash judgments, backbiting, slanders, and lies.

Q. 1311.  What are rash judgment, backbiting, slander and detraction?  A. Rash judgment is believing a person guilty of sin without a sufficient cause.  Backbiting is saying evil things of another in his absence.  Slander is telling lies about another with the intention of injuring him.  Detraction is revealing the sins of another without necessity.

Q. 1312.  Is it ever allowed to tell the faults of another?  A. It is allowed to tell the faults of another when it is necessary to make them known to his parents or superiors, that the faults may be corrected and the wrong doer prevented from greater sin.

Q. 1313.  What is tale-bearing, and why is it wrong?  A. Tale-bearing is the act of telling persons what others have said about them, especially if the things said be evil.  It is wrong, because it gives rise to anger, hatred and ill-will, and is often the cause of greater sins.

Q. 1314. {381} What must they do who have lied about their neighbor and seriously injured his character?  A. They who have lied about their neighbor and seriously injured his character must repair the injury done as far as they are able, otherwise they will not be forgiven.

Q. 1315. {382} What is the ninth Commandment? 
A. The ninth Commandment is:  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.

Q. 1316. {383} What are we commanded by the ninth Commandment?  A. We are commanded by the ninth Commandment to keep ourselves pure in thought and desire.

Q. 1317. {384} What is forbidden by the ninth Commandment?  A. The ninth Commandment forbids unchaste thoughts, desires of another’s wife or husband, and all other unlawful impure thoughts and desires.

Q. 1318. {385} Are impure thoughts and desires always sins?  A. Impure thoughts and desires are always sins, unless they displease us and we try to banish them.

Q. 1319. {386} What is the tenth Commandment? 
A. The tenth Commandment is:  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.

Q. 1320.  What does covet mean? 
A. Covet means to wish to get wrongfully what another possesses or to
begrudge his own to him.