Gossip

From the film 'Doubt'.

Father Flynn was telling a story of a woman making confession to a priest for gossiping about a man she hardly knew, and how she felt guilty about it.

"....So the woman said she was sorry and asked for forgiveness.
'Not so fast!' says O'Rourke. 'I want you to go home, take a pillow up on your roof, cut it open with a knife, and return here to me!'

So the women went home, took a pillow off her bed, a knife from the drawer, went up the fire escape to the roof, and stabbed the pillow. Then she went back to the old parish priest as instructed.

'Did you gut the pillow with the knife?' he says.
'Yes Father.'
'And what was the result?'
'Feathers.' she said.
'Feathers?' he repeated.
'Feathers everywhere, Father!'

'Now I want you to go back and gather up every last feather that flew out on the wind!'
'Well,' she said, 'it can't be done. I don't know where they went. The wind took them all over.'
'And that,' said Father O'Rourke, 'is gossip!'"