Conscience and Freedom

1
Conscience and Freedom

• The Problem of the Creative Understanding of
  Conscience

2
False Freedom

• VS 54
• Relationship between freedom and law lived out in
  the moral conscience
• This relationship is bound to the understanding
  of conscience
• Freedom exalted to idolatry
• Leads to the creative idea of conscience which
  diverges from tradition and Magisterium

3
What is it?

• CCC 1776 and following
• Synderesis and Natural Inclinations
• Pay careful attention to VS 55
• Critique of tradition The complexity of issues
  argues against the traditional approach to
  conscience

4
Important points about conscience

• VS 55
• Moral teaching v. personal decision
• Definitive teaching Binding objective criterion
  for judgments of conscience
• Decisions of conscience made autonomously v.
  judgments
• VS 56
• Intrinsic evil and conscience
• The teaching of the precept and the norm of
  individual conscience
• So-called pastoral solutions

5
The Judgment of Conscience

• Conscience is a witness to the moral law
• And a witness to ones own faithfulness of
  unfaithfulness
• An inner dialogue with oneself and with God
• A moral judgment about mans actions based upon
  the law of God, who will judge defintively
• A practical judgment, application to a particular
  case
• Formulates a moral obligation in light of the
  natural law
• Is the behavior in conformity with the law?
• Applies the objective law to a particular case.

6
The Duty To Follow Conscience and the Role of the
Moral Law

• Judgment of Conscience has an imperative
  character CCC 1790
• The dignity of conscience derives from truth
  indicated by the Divine Law
• Judgment does not establish the law
• Conscience is not an independent and exclusive
  capacity to decide what is good and what is evil.
• Mature conscience measured by search for truth
  and allowing truth to guide judgment

7
Erroneous Conscience

• Conscience is not an infallible judge
• Invincible ignorance
• Culpable error
• Conscience formation
• Magisterial role