By Fr. Glenn Jones:

Ever been the object—nay, the victim—of a harmful, yet baseless, rumor?

I’ve recently watched a murder mystery series on PBS: Vienna Blood. In one episode, an antagonist, threatening a protagonist so as to keep him from submitting evidence of a crime, warns that he and his toadies would draft a false and damaging tale against him, warning him: “You can’t kill a rumor. Like a hydra, you cut off one head, and two spring up in its place.”

Probably most of us have been the subject of the rumor mill at one time or another. People love to speculate about the faults of others—very likely so to feel better about themselves: “Well, I’m not so bad; look at what they did!” … even if “what they did” is nothing but idle speculation and gossip. But, if we don’t like such things happening to us, why do we propagate it toward others? As laments even the letter of James: “ … every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by humankind, but no human being can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brethren, this ought not to be so.” (James 3:7-10)

Gossip and speculation seem to go hand-in-hand with our selfish desire for attention and prestige: if I’m the first to know something, then people will flock and I’ll be more popular … more “important”. Only a glance at social media displays this desire quite clearly … this desire to be noticed: selfies, selfies everywhere. When something notable occurs, a forest of arms raised skyward, cellphones at the ready,  to capture fleeting images—vicarious fame, vicarious “celebrity”.

But gossip and accompanying defamation is of another character than just seeking to be noticed. Purposeful defamations seek to trample the victim into the mud, smearing their good name without sufficient evidence or cause. And even if one knows less-than-virtuous action of another, there is no need to go spreading that information willy-nilly to anyone who will listen. After all, as Jesus challenged: “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone …” (John 8:7), and “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3)

Of course, we all witness how such faults are rife during political campaigns—the inevitable mudslinging which occurs, the false accusations, false implications, and just outright lies—often discovered to be so when the election is done and it is too late. We are thrilled when our candidates win, despondent when they do not … and yet, do we really know who any of them are, and what they stand for? The truth lay in their records. This becomes especially grievous if the “fourth branch of government” – the media – colludes with promoting slanted coverage, or even falsehood. How can we not grieve for our nation in such circumstances?

But we all cherish our good name and our personal/family honor; after all, duels used to be fought over the besmirching of one’s name, and such is the cause of many arguments, antipathies, fights and even murders. For, as we read in scripture: “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches …”  (Proverbs 22:1), and is “ … better than precious ointment …”  (Ecclesiastes 7:1), and “The days of a good life are numbered, but a good name endures forever.” (Sirach 41:13)

Now, Christians believe that much of what we label as “gossip” and detractions fall under the proscription of the commandment: “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”  (Exodus 20:16). The Catholic Church conveniently outlines these in its Catechism, beginning with blatantly false witness or perjury as obviously of particular gravity; these can contribute to condemning the innocent, exonerating the guilty or increasing/decreasing right punishment for the accused. Rash judgment assumes something (a moral fault) as being true without sufficient foundation. Detraction is defined as, without objectively valid reason, disclosing another’s faults and failings to persons who did not—and have no need—to know them. Calumny are remarks contrary to truth which harms reputations and fosters false judgments against persons.

But then there is also the category of being branded due to “guilt by association”, which occurs a lot—but certainly not exclusively—with racial or ethnic bigotries and stereotypes. It’s easy to label others when one does not belong to that group, and undoubtedly others label the groups to which we ourselves belong—the human inclination to want to be “better” than the other guy, made easier when we attribute failings TO the other guy even without foundation. We see a stark example of this even in the Gospel where the proto-apostle Nathanael asks: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (John 1:46) Gee, Nathanael … only your Master, your Savior, your Lord and your God! Talking about having to eat your own words. Oops!

But Nathanael’s case demonstrates how our assumptions can be wrong, even desperately wrong. How often do we make snap judgments of people and they turn out to be nothing that we had thought? Who among us does not have a friend, or even a spouse, that we thought little of at one time? And yet, given the chance to “prove” themselves, they become among the closest to us. Would we toss away even the possibility of that with others?

Navigating through life can be complicated enough without making snap judgments or  aspersions; destroy the hydra by silence lest it escape, for like feathers in a gale, it can never be all retrieved. It behooves us to be open-minded to all … not to be naïve, and yet to give that benefit of the doubt to all whom we meet. After all, one of Jesus’ most known and beloved teachings is: “… whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.” (Matthew 7:12).

Editor’s note: Rev. Glenn Jones is the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and former pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Los Alamos.