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Morning pater can you please tell me if i say a little white lie is it a sin?
Answer to Question 502 Good morning, We are all forced to lie occasionally, but we cannot place all lies in the same category. If someone lies with the intention of causing harm to someone else then this is an evil and malicious act. But sometimes we lie to avoid telling the true which might harm someone, so the intent is not evil, but an act of love. We priest often have to be diplomatic and lie occasionally so as not to cause arguments between people. For example someone might come and accuse someone else of terrible things he has done. If the other person comes up to me and asks me what was said I would have to lie and pretend I haven’t heard anything so that he doesn’t go back and pick a fight with the person who made the accusation. At other times we lie so that we don’t have to reveal a truth about us which is nobody others business. If something is of a personal matter and we want it to remain personal then we have no other choice but to make up a story to protect our secret or be rude to someone and tell them to mind their own business. These are not lies that will cause harm to others, they are simply to conceal the truth which might cause more harm than good.
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