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Understanding Conscience and Morality

The document outlines two formative factors for conscience development: the heart, which involves reflecting on Jesus' teachings and sacramental life, and the mind, which focuses on understanding Church doctrine. It details the functions of conscience in applying moral norms and judging actions based on their nature, intention, and circumstances, as well as distinguishing between true and erroneous consciences. Additionally, it explains the relationship between conscience and law, emphasizing that conscience should follow moral laws rather than create them.

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Margaret Manto
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4 views2 pages

Understanding Conscience and Morality

The document outlines two formative factors for conscience development: the heart, which involves reflecting on Jesus' teachings and sacramental life, and the mind, which focuses on understanding Church doctrine. It details the functions of conscience in applying moral norms and judging actions based on their nature, intention, and circumstances, as well as distinguishing between true and erroneous consciences. Additionally, it explains the relationship between conscience and law, emphasizing that conscience should follow moral laws rather than create them.

Uploaded by

Margaret Manto
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Two Types of Formative Factors

1. Heart - reading and reflecting on Jesus' teaching and actions, affective prayer, and
sacramental life

2. Mind knowing the doctrine of the Church

Functions/Works of Conscience
1. To apply objective moral norms to our particular acts

2. To judge good or evil of an act; our conscience must decide on three essential aspects:

●​ The nature or object of the act


●​ The intention of the doer
●​ The circumstances which affect the morality of the act

3. When the judgment of conscience is given, it can be:

●​ Antecedent - It precedes the action.


●​ Concomitant - It accompanies the action as it takes place.
●​ Consequent - A judgment that follows the act.

Types of Conscience
1. True conscience - It judges a good act as good and an intrinsically evil act as wrong.

2. Erroneous conscience - It mistakenly judges something that is really evil to be good or


something good to be evil.

Types of Erroneous Conscience

1.​ Invincible - the person does not see the error in his/her action even if others try to point it
out.
2.​ Vincible - the person sees the error in his/her action only when others correct him/her
3.​ Perplexed - when confronted with two alternatives, it fears sin in whatever choice
4.​ Lax - it is insensitive to the good that ought to be done and the evil that ought to be
shunned
5.​ Tender or delicate - it always compares his/her action to others to arrive at correct
judgment even if the distinction is clear
6.​ Scrupulous - it is one that frequently thinks that an act is a sin when in fact it is not

Conscience and Law (cf. CFC 701-711, 723-728)

1. Conscience does not create law; it takes it as a guide.

2. Conscience is not an autonomous guide, it follows just law.

3. We are exercising authentic freedom in obeying moral laws and our consciences.

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