HYPOCRISY. — From ὑποκρισία, it etymologically means fiction; in the proper sense, it denotes the simulation of goodness, humility, and holiness in order to conceal one’s own feelings and win the favor of others.
The acts performed by the hypocrite are pure and simple ostentation, poisoned by egoism and ambition, and eager for honor and avarice. Hypocrisy, in fact, is nothing other than the direct consequence—together with boastfulness and ostentation—of vainglory, which is the disordered love of the esteem of others; vanity, in turn, together with presumption and ambition, is the direct offspring of pride, which is the deviation of that legitimate sentiment that leads one to esteem the good present in man and to seek the esteem of others within the limits necessary for the good relations one ought to have with other human beings.
Sacred Scripture considers hypocrisy particularly in the sphere of religion. In this case, the extreme gravity of the sin derives from the fact that God and piety are exploited by the hypocrite for his vicious purposes, just as those Pharisees did, from whom derives the designation of “Pharisee” applied to the hypocrite, and who were severely judged by Jesus Christ.