Calumny

Terry has a superb post about calumny and the sins related to it. I am a lifelong Catholic but am sad to say that I have seen devout people carelessly spread rumors, falsehoods and confidential information about others, causing untold harm. It is usually innocent children who suffer the most from rumors and calumny. In our own family there has been deep suffering caused by relatives who passed judgment and spread stories, stories which they should not have repeated even if convinced that what they were spreading was indeed the truth. As a young person I was reproached by relatives and people in the community about alleged behaviors of members of my family, as if it were all my fault. The young often do not see that such behavior is nothing but a cruel attempt at manipulation, and do not know how to respond. I did not know how to respond then, but I certainly do now, and am not afraid to tell people where to go. At any rate, gossip and rumor-mongering have destroyed extended families and church groups; it takes great virtue to live through such an attack but it is possible. Not only is it possible, but it is necessary to be kind and forgiving to our detractors, even if they see kindness as either weakness or condescension, but that is a reflection of their own smallness.