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, 55.
Saint John Paul II (+2005) highlights how some detractors believe that “the process of maturing is inhibited by the excessively categorical position adopted by the Church’s interventions are the cause of unnecessary conflicts of conscience.” Here we consider, briefly, “the process of maturing”, “categorical positions” and “conflicts of conscience.”
To follow the teachings of Sacred Scripture is not to be infantile. To follow the perennial teachings of Mother Church is not to be infantile. Two year old children, throwing tantrums, (terrible twos?/!) are infantile. Claiming that the Creator has no say so over the creation, ourselves included, seems to be the most infantile of all. Hopefully our conscience becomes more subtle and refined with time, even as the Lord in His human nature (cf. Luke 2:52). We should however know between right from wrong, generally by the age of reason.
Any detractors upset with “categorical positions” taken by the Church (e.g. murder is evil, abortion is murder, lust is sinful, sex outside of Marriage is sinful, greed and pride are sinful as are sloth and gluttony…) have themselves taken up categorical positions… Immanuel Kant (+1804) famously invoked the “categorical imperative” in his Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785) as being to: “act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law” which resonates with the Golden Rule (cf. Matthew 7:12).
The Good God who commands us to not bear false witness does not Himself lie to us. The Lord does not lie to us in Sacred Scripture. The Lord does not lie to us in the perennial teaching of Mother Church. The Lord does not lie to us in the lives of the saints. If the very Natural Law is inscribed on our hearts (and it is cf. Romans 2:15), the same as delivered to Moses on Mount Sini (cf. Hebrews 10:16), how could there be any “unnecessary conflicts of conscience” except those which would arise from a malformed conscience or a misunderstanding of conscience altogether, or our fallen nature and tendency to sin. In 1 Timothy 3:15 we read that “the household of God, which is the Church of the living God” is the “pillar and bulwark of the truth.” Similarly, we read in Exodus 20:16 that we are commanded by God to “not bear false witness.” While in John 8:32 we read that “the truth will set us free” and in John 14:6 how the Lord Jesus self-identifies as “the way, the truth and the life.”
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr