If push comes to shove I choose conscience over Church teaching

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that depends… did they actually engage in those trades? It seems like they would have actually had to do some of those things in order to “pass”.

If so, then they were not lying. They just weren’t revealing certain things.
 
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“Do these jeans make me look fat?”

“You have so many wonderful qualities! I love you in all your outfits.”

“Thank you, devout Catholic husband, for not lying to me. Now, tell me: do these jeans make me look fat?”
 
lilypadrees said:
If you feel the need to justify lying, or as you call it, “bending the truth,” that doesn’t say much for your character or your conscience. My maternal grandmother stressed honesty above all else. You can spare someone’s feelings while still being honest. You don’t have to “bend the truth.”

There is never any justification for lying. If you can’t be honest, then you are untrustworthy.
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I agree with this and feel honesty is extremely important, but just as important is sparing people’s feelings, or to phrase it another way, being loving and gracious in our dealings with others. Some people feel being honest means they can be blunt and tactless and they are proud of how honest they are. Perhaps they don’t realize how much cruel words can hurt.

I think it is much better to be honest but phrase your words carefully to not give unneeded offense. Tact and graciousness go a long way. People are forgetting how to be gentle with people’s feelings in this internet age.

When my daughter does silly gymnastics moves, she just wants my praise, not for me to “be honest” and tell her that she’s not very skilled yet and should practice more.

I think what the OP meant about bending the truth was about sparing someone’s feelings, at least that’s how I took it. If not, then he should clarify.

If my friend asks me how she looks in the dress she’s trying on, it depends on her personality how I answer. Some people can take strong, blunt answers and some people are very fragile. I can still be honest in both situations but it requires tact.

I brought up the Nazi situation earlier because sometimes, in extreme situations, we have to hide the truth. There is a higher good, the protection of human life. But these situations are really, really rare in day-to-day life. But it irks me to hear someone say lying is wrong in that situation.

The Catechism and the conscience are not opposed; they are complementary. If one seems in conflict with the other, then you are either misunderstanding something or uninformed.
 
goodcatholic said:
That kind of dogma is why I prefer my conscience.
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If you go with your conscience over church teaching then you are simply choosing to ignore what the Church teaches as truth. Conscience is only valuable if it serves to guide us to the truth. It can also lead us into error if we believe the lie that our capacity to reason is above God’s commandments.
 
ShowersofRoses said:
Even Jesus “appeared” to break the rules often. He followed a higher Law, a rule of Love, that went way beyond the old covenant’s legalism.
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Yet, it is Jesus Himself that Commands that we must:
37 But let your speech be yea, yea: no, no: and that which is over and above these, is of evil. (St. Matthew 5)
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Maran atha!

Angel
 
I don’t lie. But I will bend the truth when necessary, and I will lie by omission when necessary. And guess what? I’m. not. sinning. And I’m still Catholic, and I still receive Holy Communion.
 
  1. What do you mean by bending the truth?
  2. What do you mean by lying by omission?
 
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goodcatholic said:
That’s right.
The thing is , people love rules. It simplifies things and they feel more secure. Relying on your conscience is too vague, too scary.
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Not only that but too fluid–you can manipulate the Truth (Jesus) and claim to know better because you are following your (ill formed) conscience.

Maran atha!

Angel
 
Pardon! However, if your conscience conflicts with Church teaching, is the “self” not involved at some level? We are in an age and culture in which “if it feels good, do it” was the mantra. This lead to innumerable malformed consciences - mine especially.

The Church has not formulated doctrine frivolously, according to worldly demands, or by simple routine. Rather, they are discussed, prayed over extensively for years, decades, centuries - before being set in stone. The Holy Spirit initiates discussion, guides the discourse and is crucial in discerning the truth. Not necessarily so with our own consciences. Far from it!

Ah, but when doctrines are set in stone, the winds of change blow and the house remains standing.

For that reason, and many others, we are “home” in Christ’s Church.
 
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goodcatholic said:
The thing is , people love rules. It simplifies things and they feel more secure. Relying on your conscience is too vague, too scary.
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Maybe some of us don’t want to play around with our eternal souls. So instead of formulating ways to bend the rules we conform our consciences to the truth of Christ and His Church.

I mean, Jesus gave us the Church so we have a clear path to heaven. Why would you want to follow your own way when the way is clear?
 
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Were they able to perform such labors?

Were they renouncing Christ in order save their hides?

Maran atha!

Angel
 
Thank you. Admittedly it’s been a couple (three) decades or so since I took my BA in history, but I’ve always had a special interest in Colonial America, and this didn’t ‘hit my radar’, especially since toward the end of the Colonial period was the period of the Jesuit suppression.
 
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