Pope Urges More Reliance on Individual Conscience

[abucs]

The Church’s teaching – and Memaw’s nod to proper formation of conscience – isn’t “paint by numbers” by any stretch!

No, it’s not that simple. Yet, it’s not a prescription for anarchy in ‘grey areas’.

I think we can agree that forming our conscious in the light of our relationship with God is very important.

Unfortunately when we take ‘forming our conscious’ to the extreme then such views can be (and have been) used to attack the church as part of ideological agenda.

Because as Memaw has said, such attacks have happened as recently as the 70’s and 80’s (with some still hanging on today) it is understandable that many of us would be wary of attacks on church teaching in deference to our conscience.

 

[kevin1313]

Apples and oranges.

The fact that there situations that call for prudential judgment doesn’t mean that there aren’t objective moral principles upon which the judgment is based! Rather, it means that there is an individual component – a component in which the person is called upon to apply the relevant objective principles – that relies on a well-formed conscience as the guide which leads a person to a prudent course of action.

If by ‘gray area’ you simply mean ‘a difficult question to unpack’, then sure… it is that! But, I think you’re using it in the more common sense – a question that admits of many contradictory (and seemingly mutually exclusive) answers. That’s not at all what’s in play here.

Does the pope call it a ‘gray area’? I haven’t seen that. No, instead, I think, he’s identifying that it’s a difficult question. Not ‘gray’, but ‘requiring careful analysis’.

All power in heaven and on earth -not just for the Catholic Church but for the whole world - has been given to Peter. His primary responsibility is to confirm his brethren in the Truth. How does pushing for reliance on individual consciences (our consciences are so properly formed that we reason away the illicitness of contraception, we justify premarital, homosexual and immoral acts, we explain away the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, etc….) help us live the Truth? Never mind the “difficult questions” we are faced with….we can’t even get the clearly defined ones right!

 

[Listener]

There are plenty of gray areas in Catholic morality. Here’s an example. Your close relative is dying. The Church says that dying people need to be given food and water.

Your relative has dementia and is both irrational and agitated. He or she has stopped eating and drinking. You are told that a feeding tube is not advisable because your relative will pull it out. What are you supposed to do?

There are many gray areas like that, but for some reason, anything regarding contraception is supposed to be set in concrete.

The definition of contraception is doing something you hope will prevent pregnancy.

If a man with a pregnant wife went to confession and said “Bless me Father for I have sinned, I used birth control,” would his next sentence have to be, “I just told a lie in Confession?” The fact is, he didnt try to prevent pregnancy because she was already pregnant. The same thing would be true if his wife was past menopause or if she had a hysterectomy.

 

[Gorgias]

How does pushing for reliance on individual consciences (our consciences are so properly formed that we reason away the illicitness of contraception, we justify premarital, homosexual and immoral acts, we explain away the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, etc….) help us live the Truth?

A conscience that is improperly formed reasons away sin. In that way, it prevents a person from living out the Truth.

The problem isn’t that individual conscience is in play – rather, the problem is that many consciences are poorly formed.

 

[Gorgias]

There are plenty of gray areas in Catholic morality. Here’s an example. Your close relative is dying. The Church says that dying people need to be given food and water.

Your relative has dementia and is both irrational and agitated. He or she has stopped eating and drinking. You are told that a feeding tube is not advisable because your relative will pull it out. What are you supposed to do?

There are many gray areas like that

So… what is the moral ‘gray area’ that you’re suggesting exists? I can see a mis-statement or two about Church teaching, but I’m not seeing the gray area…

, but for some reason, anything regarding contraception is supposed to be set in concrete.

No, you’re mistaken – artificial birth control methods are sinful. Other methods (for instance, NFP) aren’t sinful, even if they might be used in order to avoid conception for a time.

If a man with a pregnant wife went to confession and said “Bless me Father for I have sinned, I used birth control,” would his next sentence have to be, “I just told a lie in Confession?” The fact is, he didnt try to prevent pregnancy because she was already pregnant. The same thing would be true if his wife was past menopause or if she had a hysterectomy.

I’m not sure what point you think you’re making. Are you suggesting that he’s using artificial birth control while his wife is already pregnant? That doesn’t make sense.

 

[Gorgias]

Look, I’m totally against the use of the death penalty and waterboarding. But I’ve also been engaged with multiple folks in debates about if or when either might be used. And while I’m extremely uncomfortable making their arguments for them (as I don’t agree with them), they certainly point back to the CCC as providing openings for the use of both.

Wait – you’re claiming the existence of ‘moral gray areas’ based on the fact that, in one situation, a particular action is morally licit, whereas in another, it is morally illicit? Oy…

 

[estesbob]

wsj.com/articles/pope-urges-more-reliance-on-individual-conscience-1455915494

When in doubt a Catholic should go to the catechism for guidance, not rely on selected out of context quotes from off-the-cuff interviews given by the Pope