Morals of the Church
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Section — Wouters, Manual of Moral Theology

Scholion II. On Witnesses

¶1.

(St. Thomas, II-II, q. 70; St. Alphonsus, Theologia Moralis, book IV, nn. 255-271; Homo Apostolicus, tract 13, nn. 79-81.)

Witnesses

1146.

I. The Obligation of Testifying. The following are bound to testify and to confess the truth:

  1. By charity one is bound if his testimony "is necessary for averting a great evil of a neighbor or of the state" (St. Alphonsus IV, 264).

  2. By office, and by justice, the same persons are bound who by reason of office are bound to denunciation (n. 1140).

  3. By precept, one is bound who is legitimately cited and questioned. One who flees when legitimately cited, or who does not confess the truth when legitimately questioned, sins, but does not wound commutative justice, and therefore is not bound to restore to him in whose favor he could have testified (St. Alphonsus IV, 264).

To what extent a cleric can be cited and questioned by a civil judge, see n. 1153.

Witnesses

1147.

II. Excusing Causes. A witness is excused from testifying and manifesting the truth (or even, according to circumstances, is bound to abstain from them):

  1. If he has known the matter under sacramental secrecy, or has acquired knowledge of the matter for himself through injury, for example by opening letters. If he has received knowledge of the matter under an entrusted secret, the things said concerning denunciation hold (n. 1140; St. Alphonsus IV, 268). For the rest, the law itself also commonly exempts doctors, advocates, priests, etc., from testifying with respect to those things which have been manifested to them in view of their office.

  2. "If from the testimony notable harm threatens you or yours, unless nevertheless public harm or another's private harm prevails" (St. Alphonsus, loc. cit.).

  3. "If you received it from men not sufficiently worthy of faith; for then you can conduct yourself as if you knew nothing" (St. Alphonsus, loc. cit.).

  4. If someone is brought before the judge without probable indications of a crime. For injury is done to such an accused person (cf. St. Thomas, II-II, q. 69, a. 2; St. Alphonsus, loc. cit.), which the witnesses should not increase by testifying against him; but this excusing cause will scarcely obtain.

  5. If the accused is probably immune from grave theological fault (St. Alphonsus, loc. cit.); in which case the witness ought to respond that he knows nothing, or even that the accused did not commit the crime. If, however, there is question of a civil cause, the witness ought to confess the fact, even if only juridical fault was present.

  6. A spouse and near blood relatives are often excused because of grave inconvenience; indeed civil laws generally exempt them.

Corollary I. One who is exempted or excused can also licitly use a restriction that is not purely mental. Moreover, the more obvious restriction is that by which the witness, when questioned, says that he knows nothing, understanding: which I am bound to manifest. And this holds even if he has sworn an oath to tell the whole truth; nevertheless he should proceed prudently.

Corollary II. A witness who is bound to testify and to confess the truth sins by merely concealing the truth: 1° against a just precept, which is grave from its kind; 2° against religion, if he swore that he would tell the whole truth. If, after this oath has been sworn, he lies or uses a purely mental restriction, he is guilty of perjury; if he is silent or uses a broad mental restriction, he is not indeed guilty of perjury, but he wounds the oath insofar as it is promissory; this is a sin grave from its kind (n. 689); 3° against commutative justice, if he is bound by reason of office; otherwise not, if he is bound only either by charity or by reason of the precept of the judge (St. Alphonsus IV, 270).

Corollary III. A witness "who knowingly has testified falsely, through which he was an efficacious cause of harm to another, is bound to the prevention or reparation of all damages which are caused. Likewise he is bound to retract with equal harm to himself, and even with danger of life, if the accused is endangered in it and he is thought by retracting to be about to accomplish something" (St. Alphonsus IV, 269). If he was not gravely culpable, he is not bound to restitution; nevertheless he ought to retract the testimony, if this can be done conveniently enough (St. Alphonsus, loc. cit.; n. 994).

III. With respect to ecclesiastical causes to be treated before an ecclesiastical judge, observe these things:

  1. A witness duly cited ought to appear or make known to the judge the cause of his absence (can. 1765, § 1).

  2. A disobedient witness, namely one who without legitimate cause does not appear, or even if he appears refuses to respond or to take an oath or to sign the attestation, can be coerced by the judge with suitable penalties and moreover fined in proportion to the harm which comes to the parties from his disobedience (can. 1765, § 2).

  3. Witnesses must respond to a judge legitimately questioning them and confess the truth (can. 1755, § 1).

  4. From the obligation assigned under 3 are exempted: 1° pastors and other priests as regards those things which have been manifested to them by reason of the sacred ministry outside sacramental confession; magistrates of states, doctors, midwives, advocates, notaries, and others who are bound to secrecy of office even by reason of counsel furnished, as regards matters subject to this secret; 2° those who fear that from their testimony infamy, dangerous vexations, or other very grave evils will come upon themselves or upon blood relatives or relatives by affinity in any degree of the direct line and in the first degree of the collateral line (can. 1755, § 2).

Witnesses