On the heels of former cycling star Lance Armstrong’s admission of cheating, local news television station WCPO aired a story Friday entitled “Is anyone honest anymore?” One of the people interviewed for the piece was Stephen Trosley, editor-in-chief of The Catholic Telegraph.

The story, by WCPO reporter Scott Wegener, brought viewers along to a cycling shop, the Rotary Club, and The Catholic Telegraph offices while making references to ancient philosophers in search of answers to two questions. Is anyone honest anymore, and how relevant is honesty?

All those interviewed admitted to having lied at one point or another, though most stressed the importance of the truth.

“I owe you respect as a human being,” Trosley said in the story. “To denigrate your reputation or to say something false about you, even in a political context, is not respecting you.”

But Trosley’s interview with Wegener was more than just the few seconds viewers showed.

“He asked if truth was relevant in today’s world,” Trosley said. “He asked how anyone could resist the temptation to be dishonest when so many people in society choose to cheat and lie to get ahead. I responded that honesty is not relevant, it is relevance. Because truth is the essence of God, it is important. Also, it doesn’t matter if you don’t come in first place because you refused to cheat. There are more important things than earthly conquest.”

With the acknowledgement that almost everyone lies, some find it difficult to reconcile that with the notion that honesty is still important. What is important to remember, however, is that human beings are not perfect.

“God made one perfect being, Jesus Christ,” Trosley said. “I’m not Jesus Christ. You are not Jesus Christ. We are, therefore, not perfect and have flaws and faults.”

View the original WCPO report, embedded from the station’s Youtube account, below.