We hear a lot about the idea of "fake news" these days-- stories about something that supposedly has happened that aren't true. There seem to be a ton of such stories during presidential elections-- that President Obama was born in Africa, that Hilary Clinton was involved in some way with a child abuse ring in DC, the list goes on. We hear stories of conspiracies, of "deep state" intrigue, of a cabal of gay clergy running the Vatican. We tend to think these things are a new creation, something the internet made possible becaue anyone can publish anything without any attribution or verification and some credulous people will believe it. But, sadly, what we are seeing now is just more of the same-- more of our human willingness to believe lies, especially lies which cast someone in a negative light, about other people. That's why people tell such things. They know we are predisposed to believe the negative, to think the worst, to spread negative information. And that is what is going on in today's Gospel (Lk 11: 14- 23) where Jesus casts out a mute demon and people in the crowd (note, it is more than one) say that Jesus is doing that "(b)y the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons." Really? And how would they know that? Did Beelzebul tell them that? If he did, should they believe him? Who would believe the prince of lies anyway? No, they have no idea of the truth of what they are saying. They just don't like the fact that Jesus is successful in helping the mute man, and others, and they want to bring Him down. Some people for some reason just can't seem to tolerate it when others succeed. Maybe they tried to cast out the deman and failed, so they think Jesus is making them look bad. Or maybe they just don't like Jesus' message and they are trying to take Him down. Whatever the reason, they just make up a lie, and, by doing so, force Jesus to respond and explain why what they are saying can't be true. It is what some politicians do today-- one of the oldest tricks in the book to distract and undermine one's opponent. Note that the technique works only because we are so willing to believe bad things about others. If we weren't made that way, people could just ignore such attacks and no harm would be done. But think about it-- almost every rumor that gets spread is something negative. We are so happy to spread that kind of thing, and much less likely to spread information that puts someone in a good light. If there was a rumor that President Trump had secretly been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, do you think Democratic operatives would plaster that all over the internet? Nope. We need to be the kind of people who think twice, or more, when we hear something bad about someone else. Even if the person speaking seems to have a basis for what they're saying, we might ask why it is important to spread the news. Why do we have to tarnish a reputation, even if the information is true. And what if it isn't? At the party after the wedding of one of our daughters we invited people to write down a piece of advice for the new couple and give it to them. Here's the advice a dear friend I have known for almost 50 years gave the couple, based on something my friend had heard from his father: "Just because something is true doesn't mean it needs to be said." Amen.