Why, for the same reason you and I do: for the greater good, of course. That’s how all human beings justify lying or any other sin they commit. Normally, for *ordinary* people in *ordinary* situations, such behavior is “wrong”, we say. But for me, in my oh-so-special situation, it’s okay. Or if not okay, then, courageous because I’m bravely willing to defy even God in order that some essential and good thing be preserved despite his inexplicable and pharisaic rules that stand in the way of the Greater Good. In fact, I’m actually a *hero* for being willing to go to hell for the Greater Good. The graver the sin, the more likely the sinner is to spout the language of courage to justify the sin. It is all, of course, an elaborate kabuki for covering up the fact that when we advocate some sin, whether grave or venial, we are, in fact, afraid to trust God and obey him.
Permit me to repeat: We all do it. And we all, when our minds are clear, recognize the baloney when others say it and we have no vested interest in the Greater Good they are pursuing by their sinful actions. It’s only in our own case that we manage to muscle down conscience, tell ourselves this load of bushwah and make ourselves believe the lie—at least temporarily. Eventually conscience catches up with us, whether through exposure of the bushwah to the light of day or because we just can’t live with ourselves anymore. Then we have the choice to listen to conscience or keep up the “courageous” denial of it.
Happily, there is always the option of repentance, confession, and the forgiving grace of God. Lent’s an especially good time for that.
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I’m confused. Which cop? Which lie? Sorry, but your article is too general to concede the premises of the point you are trying to make.
@Hugo: I think he’s talking about under cover police officers, like those who pretend to be junkies and buy drugs off someone.
And the “premises” are that individuals justify lying by claiming their own circumstances are unique or special so that a lie is alright. I think the cop thing was for pizaz, at least that was my impression.
Actually, I just looked at the link provided and it’s about police officers who lie under oath to convict criminals. Though, I don’t blame you Hugo, I’m not a big fan of links either (I’m lazy when it comes to internet surfing).
I don’t doubt some officers lie under oath sometimes, but this statement by the author of that article is just egregious:
“They know that in a swearing match between a drug defendant and a police officer, the judge always rules in favor of the officer.”
That’s quite a claim. Always?
Sorry for clogging the comments thread.
Police lie and even “tesitlie” out of fear of being caught. Regretably, it’s a pernicious part of the job .
It’s only part of the job because the atmosphere in this country is one that supports the idea that cops are above the law. Only by utterly avoiding news coverage of police tactics can a person be unaware of the near wholesale corruption of the police by the war on drugs.
The person who wrote the article Mark links to is a former commissioner of the San Francisco police department. He ought to know.
For those who doubt the veracity of this account, please do the research yourself. Frankly, I am a little shocked that there are people who have managed to remain ignorant of what is happening. And I am slightly envious. Ignorance can be bliss.
A prayerful, Lectio Divina, insight. In Genesis after Cain killed Abel, God asked Cain why he was crestfallen. God went on to say, if you do not act rightly [sin] the evil spirit will be at your door and his desire will be for you [to enter in that crack in your character which the evil spirit sees as his way to use you in the war that is evil against good, darkness against light, pride against humility, death against life, etc.]. God also told Cain, but you can be his master. Personally, I don’t like the thought of evil spirits seeing a red light at my door. If you are familiar with Sting’s song “Roxanne”...you don’t have to put out the red light! In the realm of the spiritual life, lies will draw the wrong crowd.
@Lizzie: I’m sure most people are aware of the unfortunate prevalence of police officers’ abuse of power. However, it seems like the author of that article is more concerned with making subtle attacks against all police officers and judges in America, rather than exposing or explaining police lies. I find it hard to believe that this corruption is “routine”, or that police have a “contempt for the law”.
Hopefully, if the corruption is as bad as the author claims, he will use his experience as a former commissioner and as a lawyer and law professor to expose actual corruption so it can be dealt with.
You know what Lent is also good for, Mark? Repenting of the sin of calumny against your fellow Catholics. Of course, as your readers well know, that’s far more difficult than setting up a strawman and knocking it down.
I am very disappointed in this article and most of the comments that follow. Such a wholesale indictment of police officers as liars, perjuring themselves on a routine basis to keep the poor drug defendant down. Really? Based on what facts? I read Mr. Keane’s article and found it very lacking in substance. With all due respect, it is outrageous and insulting comments such as these that are very hurtful to police officers. I would have to wonder about Mr. Keane’s motivation and his employment history in the legal profession.
Let me put it this way, the article’s heading, “Why do Cops Lie?”, is as insulting to me as it would be for me and many others if an article was titled, “Why to priests fondle altar boys?”, “Why do teachers molest their students?”, “Why do clergymen lie?”, or the best yet….“Why do people with no true knowledge of an event assume the worst and accuse good men and women of committing sinful acts?” Are any of those comments justified? No, of course not!
Finally, I would just like to say that police officers are, in general, the finest group of men and women one could find. There are bad apples in every bunch because we are sinful humans. Please, don’t continue to throw stones at police officers until you know what you’re talking about. These are the same people who shed their blood for their brethren routinely and ask nothing in return, except a little less bashing and a little more education about what they do and why. See Matthew 7:5 for further reading on this subject.
When I saw what Mark’s blog post was about, I believed that his point would be lost in the disbelief people have regarding the level of corruption among the police who are involved in the War on Drugs.
If people do not understand that police lying in court is a rampant problem, then Mark’s column is for nothing.
Yes, there are many decent cops, but since the War on Drugs was instituted, the number of cops corrupted by the financial incentives offered by the government is overwhelming.
Please do the research yourself.
Maybe one day Mark can bring up this issue and rather than debating what is an established fact, that there is a SERIOUS problem with police perjuring themselves in drug trials, we actually discuss Mark’s point.
@Lizzie: Most people do not have time to do independent research. If you have something supporting the claim that corruption is rampant, a link or cite to a study would be appreciated.
I’m hesitant to condemn the country’s entire police force based on an opinion article.
But the point of Mark’s post isn’t lost, lying is wrong no matter what statistics or studies show, but thankfully there is confession.
I don’t think the lying was made for any particular event. The image we have is of police people that are above doing anything wrong. They would not lye about anything, but in truth they are as human as any of us. We are not perfect, we can and sometimes lye to protect ourselves instead of trusting God in all situations. We should try to remember that Jesus fore told of Peters lying the night before he was crucified. If Jesus can forgive and go on we all should try to do the same. Here is a perfect example of how we should live, perhaps an example to the other person that is lying, that they have chosen the lesser path, and could change their ways. I saw an example the other day in a grade school classroom. It does not matter how for I have chosen to go down the wrong path, I can always turn around. Remember we all can turn around. Peace, Thom,
This is written by the same guy that told a half truth in his story on Medgugorje. While he stated the Bishop was against it, he did not tell that Rome’s stance on it. Mark Shea is not better than the cops he talks about.
Jim: I think Mark’s position on Medgugorje does not differ from that of the Roman Catholic curia: a healthy tractability toward the miraculous in principle, but a healthy skepticism toward any particular allegedly miraculous manifestation. As C.S. Lewis put it, we should believe in the real possibility of traitors and spies in our midst, but we should not believe every accusation.
Unfortunately, I think he’s beating a dead horse. Lila Rose did not lie. She asked questions and got answers, undercover. When presenting the evidence, she did it with full disclosure. I think that Fr. Frank Pavone said it best and since he is in the middle of the battle and on the front lines. He also walks what he talks - I’ll go with what he says. God bless the soldiers who fear not the death on this earth by the hands and the pens by those who claim to be soldiers, while the true soldiers gain eternal salvation. AMEN!
Who said anything about Lila Rose?
I’m a retired Police Officer. You wouldn’t say that to my face ! Use your energies to investigate why the CCHD collects millions from good Catholics by lying that the funds will be used for the POOR, when in fact they are distributed to Pro-Abortion, political partisan groups, by a man who campaigns for Pro-Abortion Democrats !
I wouldn’t say that some cops lie? Of course I would. And you would grant that they do because all of us struggle with that temptation. Nor would I deny a word you say about the CCHD. Nor would I say that I have never lied. My point is not that there is something peculiar about cops when they lie, but that there is something completely ordinary and human about it and that we all do it because we all sin. The article I linked was merely a launch point for talking about how all of us think when we sin, me included.
Mark, thank you for clarifying your position. “Some cops lie” sounds much better than the title you chose for this article, “Why do cops lie?” The peculiarity of police officers when they lie is certainly debatable. The point is everyone has the option to lie and sometimes make that unfortunate decision. Cops, firemen, lawyers, presidents, priests, deacons, theologians, educators, ad nauseum, are all equally culpable. You can see the overwhelmingly prejudicial statements made about police officers in response to the article. Makes you wonder about our priorities as a society, doesn’t it? Perhaps this Lenten season we can look within ourselves for mud, instead of slinging it blindly at whole groups of brothers and sisters, eh? See Luke 6:36-38 for further study on the subject (related: Matthew 7:5). Pax.
Well, to be fair, I was simply riffing off the title from the article I linked. Anyway, thanks for understanding.
Lying is intrinsically evil. Yes, it is a hard teaching as all of us do it. But the folly comes in those who present evil as good. I think Mark nailed it when he said that this happens because “we are, in fact, afraid to trust God and obey him.” And the fact that all people lie is a confusion of “what is, ought to be”. I think the idea of his article is for us to look inward at ourselves hence the tag “examination of conscience.”
@DJP - I would… They/We all lie. Police lie for the same reasons we all do, Because it works- Scientific American Mind May 2005. The article that we are commenting on has a title that is inflammatory, no doubt. But Catholic Bashing to prove a point? I guess that we can add intolerant to your list…@ L.D. I am in complete agreement with most of what you said except - In General Police are “The finest group of men and women” -they are not superior in any way shape or form to any other “general group.” And the “Best & Brightest” why is it that that gets thrown out with complete absent of fact? What the heck does that even mean? And Yes, they do “shed their blood for their brethren” Police are either #9, #10 or #11 on the list of ‘Most Dangerous Jobs’ Depending on if you listen to Forbes, Money Magazine or Labor Statistics, they are behind - Pilots, construction workers, fisherman, refuse collectors - well you get my point. And, lets not forget that they do ask for something pay, benefits and retirement after 30 years just to name a few.
never tell a truly free soul don’t hit enter you may want to start there
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