My dear parishioners,

            Peace! In other bulletins (4 December, 2016-11 June, 2017) we have considered the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on “conscience.” We then turned to Saint John Paul II’s encyclical letter Veritatis splendor (6 August, 1993) which addresses fundamental moral issues, including “conscience” more than one hundred times.  These reflections were begun earlier (6 April, 2018-30 May, 2018). Here we now consider a passage from Veritatis splendor, 59.2.

            Saint John Paul II (+2005) when considering the “judgment of conscience” reminds us that “the judgment of conscience states ‘in an ultimate way’ whether a certain particular kind of behavior is in conformity with the law; it formulates the proximate norm of the morality of a voluntary act, ‘applying the objective law to a particular case.’”  The Holy Father’s internal citation is to an Instruction on ‘Situation Ethics’ Contra Doctrinam (2 February, 1956) of the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office.  

            There have been other ethical Instructions from this same curial office now called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (e.g. Dignitas Personae (2008);  Human Life and its origin(1987); On the doctrinal authority of the Instruction Donum Vitae (1988)).  The reason we listen to the Church, the Pope, his helpers in the Roman Curia… is because of what the Lord Jesus Christ says to Saint Peter (and the Church) in Matthew 16:18-19 (and 18:18):  “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.  I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.  Whatever you bind on Earth will be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on Earth will be loosed in Heaven.”  If there are those in our day who would have us throw out the teachings of the Lord concerning the indissolubility of Marriage (cf. Matthew 5:31-32; Luke 16:18) or being pure of heart (cf. Matthew 5:8) would these same people have us similarly discard the love of enemies (cf. Matthew 5:44) or feeding the hungry (cf. Matthew 25:35)?

            The Sermon on the Mount (cf. Matthew 5:1-7:27) was not merely a recommendation, even as the Ten Commandments (cf. Exodus 20:3-17; Deuteronomy 5:7-21) are neither suggestions nor multiple choice.  The Lord God has gone to the trouble to both inscribe the Natural Law upon our hearts and to give the Decalogue through Moses as well as the grace we need to live accordingly through Christ.  If we disbelieve Moses and Christ to whom will we turn (cf. John 5:45)?  When our conscience is in conformity with the Commandments of God and the Natural Law and we act accordingly of our own free will (“voluntary act”) we are on the right path.  The sure and certain teachings of Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Sacred Teaching Authority of the Church (Magisterium) help us to form our conscience before the Holy  Cross (cf. Dei Verbum, 10.3; Dignitatis Humanae, 14; CCC § 1785).            

            God bless you!

            Father John Arthur Orr