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Cardinal Pell has often spoken on the “conscience” - he has striven to clarify what that means and how it works. Here is his latest commentary from Zenit Reports:
Newman and the Drama of True and False Conscience
By Cardinal George Pell
Cardinal John Newman’s view of conscience is far from that usually held by those who speak of “primacy of conscience” today. …"
People who claim primacy of conscience rarely see the problems this raises in the moral life. Furthermore, this view causes a range of problems for the practice of the faith and for the Catholic sense of belonging. Newman’s view of conscience has a more transcendent importance: Conscience is the normal means by which most people know of the existence of God. .…
"…“Good conscience” simply means good grasp and good application of moral truths – it is the truth that is primary, it is the truth that is grasped and applied by the practical mind, or, if you prefer, by the conscience. …
“…When we receive messages, we listen to them. We do not make them up and reword them to reflect what we wish had been said. If we disagree with the Church’s message so seriously that we cannot follow its terms, then we cannot reinvent it to make it easier or more palatable…”
“…A Catholic conscience cannot accept a settled position against the Church, at least on a central moral teaching…”
Of course, Newman’s view of conscience is profoundly counterintuitive to modern ears. For Newman, conscience is objective, hard work, a challenge to self, a call to conversion, a sign of humility; and this sits uncomfortably for those who see freedom as the right to reject what is unpalatable. …"
“…But the twist is that many people who accept moral truths in some area of life reject moral truth especially in areas such as sexual morality, and perhaps also in life issues such as abortion and euthanasia. Moral truth is a great ally when it is on your side; but when it grates against your own convenience it can be tempting to treat it as an anachronism…”
The Pope argues that in their consciences human persons encounter moral truth, freely embrace it, and personally commit themselves to its enactment. This account (see “Veritatis Splendor,” 54-64) builds upon Newman’s theory of conscience as man’s free adoption of God’s law. Conscience is neither apprehending an alien law nor devising our own laws: rather, conscience is freely accepting the objective moral law as the basis of all our choices. Thus forming and following a Christian conscience is a dignifying and liberating experience; it means not resentfully following God’s law but freely embracing it as our life’s ideal. …
This specifically Catholic view rejects the mistaken primacy of conscience doctrine and clearly asserts the primacy of truth. The Pope writes: “In any event, it is always from the truth that the dignity of conscience derives. In the case of the correct conscience, it is a question of the objective truth received by man; in the case of the erroneous conscience, it is a question of what man, mistakenly, subjectively considers to be true. It is never acceptable to confuse a ‘subjective’ error about moral good with the ‘objective’ truth rationally proposed to man in virtue of his end, or to make the moral value of an act performed with a true and correct conscience equivalent to the moral value of an act performed by following the judgment of an erroneous conscience” (“Veritatis Splendor,” 63)…"
“…The point is that no one – at least, no Christian – believes conscience simply asserts the first thing that comes into our heads. Conscience looks for real answers to our questions; and where can it look except to the truth? But then the value of conscience surely lies not in conscience itself but in the objective truth to which conscience looks for answers. It is the truth that is primary, and it is from the truth that conscience takes its value…”
"…So, conscientious thinking matters to Christians because objective truth is so important to us. Why would we take conscientious belief seriously at all unless we believed it represented access to objective truth? After all, the bare fact that it is my private belief is of no moral significance whatsoever. It matters because objective truth matters. …
Much of the debate over conscience in Catholic circles focuses on the possibility of a conscience against the Church’s teaching. This seems to me a peculiar notion…"
A debased notion of conscience, a barely concealed enthusiasm for autonomy disguised as an appeal to the primacy of conscience, weakens our sense of obligation, damages our purity of heart, and makes it harder and harder to see God.
ZE05021023
CHICAGO, FEB. 10, 2005 (Zenit.or
Newman and the Drama of True and False Conscience
By Cardinal George Pell
Cardinal John Newman’s view of conscience is far from that usually held by those who speak of “primacy of conscience” today. …"
People who claim primacy of conscience rarely see the problems this raises in the moral life. Furthermore, this view causes a range of problems for the practice of the faith and for the Catholic sense of belonging. Newman’s view of conscience has a more transcendent importance: Conscience is the normal means by which most people know of the existence of God. .…
"…“Good conscience” simply means good grasp and good application of moral truths – it is the truth that is primary, it is the truth that is grasped and applied by the practical mind, or, if you prefer, by the conscience. …
“…When we receive messages, we listen to them. We do not make them up and reword them to reflect what we wish had been said. If we disagree with the Church’s message so seriously that we cannot follow its terms, then we cannot reinvent it to make it easier or more palatable…”
“…A Catholic conscience cannot accept a settled position against the Church, at least on a central moral teaching…”
Of course, Newman’s view of conscience is profoundly counterintuitive to modern ears. For Newman, conscience is objective, hard work, a challenge to self, a call to conversion, a sign of humility; and this sits uncomfortably for those who see freedom as the right to reject what is unpalatable. …"
“…But the twist is that many people who accept moral truths in some area of life reject moral truth especially in areas such as sexual morality, and perhaps also in life issues such as abortion and euthanasia. Moral truth is a great ally when it is on your side; but when it grates against your own convenience it can be tempting to treat it as an anachronism…”
The Pope argues that in their consciences human persons encounter moral truth, freely embrace it, and personally commit themselves to its enactment. This account (see “Veritatis Splendor,” 54-64) builds upon Newman’s theory of conscience as man’s free adoption of God’s law. Conscience is neither apprehending an alien law nor devising our own laws: rather, conscience is freely accepting the objective moral law as the basis of all our choices. Thus forming and following a Christian conscience is a dignifying and liberating experience; it means not resentfully following God’s law but freely embracing it as our life’s ideal. …
This specifically Catholic view rejects the mistaken primacy of conscience doctrine and clearly asserts the primacy of truth. The Pope writes: “In any event, it is always from the truth that the dignity of conscience derives. In the case of the correct conscience, it is a question of the objective truth received by man; in the case of the erroneous conscience, it is a question of what man, mistakenly, subjectively considers to be true. It is never acceptable to confuse a ‘subjective’ error about moral good with the ‘objective’ truth rationally proposed to man in virtue of his end, or to make the moral value of an act performed with a true and correct conscience equivalent to the moral value of an act performed by following the judgment of an erroneous conscience” (“Veritatis Splendor,” 63)…"
“…The point is that no one – at least, no Christian – believes conscience simply asserts the first thing that comes into our heads. Conscience looks for real answers to our questions; and where can it look except to the truth? But then the value of conscience surely lies not in conscience itself but in the objective truth to which conscience looks for answers. It is the truth that is primary, and it is from the truth that conscience takes its value…”
"…So, conscientious thinking matters to Christians because objective truth is so important to us. Why would we take conscientious belief seriously at all unless we believed it represented access to objective truth? After all, the bare fact that it is my private belief is of no moral significance whatsoever. It matters because objective truth matters. …
Much of the debate over conscience in Catholic circles focuses on the possibility of a conscience against the Church’s teaching. This seems to me a peculiar notion…"
A debased notion of conscience, a barely concealed enthusiasm for autonomy disguised as an appeal to the primacy of conscience, weakens our sense of obligation, damages our purity of heart, and makes it harder and harder to see God.
ZE05021023
CHICAGO, FEB. 10, 2005 (Zenit.or