Conscience in the Teaching of the Church

1
Conscience in the Teaching of the Church

• From the Pastoral Constitution of the Church in
  the Modern World
• -Gaudium et Spes

2
Conscience

• A law not from oneself - deep within a person
• Love and do what is good, avoid evil
• Our secret core and sanctuary
• Alone with God
• Fulfilled in love of God neighbour
• More correct conscience turns from blind choice
  guided by objective standards
• Goes astray through ignorance (sometimes
  unavoidable, sometimes by choice)

3
Conscience vs. superego

• Maturing
• Laws rules imposed by authority ? directing
  actions from within
• Other-directed ? self-directed
• Others are listened to, but you make own moral
  judgment
• It is healthy to distinguish what comes from our
  conscience and what is from superego

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Conscience is not

• A feeling that something is right or wrong
• A feeling of guilt (although the feeling can tell
  us that something is amiss)
• A fear of punishment

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Freuds elements

• Id unconscious reservoir of instinctual drives
  dominated by pleasure principle (libido)
• Ego conscious structure mediating forces of id,
  the demands of society the reality of the
  physical world, and the
• Superego (the ego of another superimposed on our
  own as an internal censor),
• Stores the shoulds and have-tos
• Were good following authority, bad when we dont

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OConnells 3 Senses of Conscience

• A Capacity to recognize right wrong
• Basic orientation ? know the good
• Do good / avoid evil (principle of synderesis)
• Essential to the identity of humans
• Process of moral reasoning
• Learn facts, to reason correctly
• A lifelong process
• Judgment
• Acting on what one believes to be right
• One is bound to follow ones conscience.

7
Development of Conscience

• As we mature, our sense of right/wrong (as formed
  within family 1st)
• As we take account of norms, values, virtues,
  commandments of Christian tradition
• As we become aware of our weakness / fragility
  and need for others and God
• As we receive sacraments pray
• As we grow in humility (we alone are not the
  final arbiters of right/wrong)

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Conscience can be malformed

• Immoral actions
• Faulty reasoning
• Faulty value structures
• Misinformation
• Ignorance
• Vincible
• Invincible

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Symptoms of a misinformed Conscience

• Rationalization
• Trivialization
• Misinformation
• The end justifies the immoral means (Means to an
  end)
• Difficult to reason

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To make good decisions

• Have an open attitude
• Avoid bias
• Seeing only 1 side
• (People will always have some kind of bias)

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Active vs. Passive Listening

• Active
• Open to world around us
• Mind engaged, thinking
• Sorting, evaluating
• Passive
• No choices sit down listen

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To listen actively

• Sense of humility
• Be open to insights observations of others
• Dont presume you have all the answers

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LISTEN

• A GOOD APPROACH TO MAKING GOOD MORAL CHOICES

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L Look for the facts

• What is the real situation?
• What is at stake?
• What are the actions?

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I Imagine Possibilities

• What are the consequences?
• What are the options?
• Are there creative approaches?

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S Seek Insight beyond your own

• Ask for help from
• Family
• Friends
• Religion
• Wise persons
• Moral principles

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T Turn Inward

• What are your own feelings?
• What have you learned from your own experiences?
• What are your
• Motives?
• Intentions?
• Values? (whats important to you?)

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E Expect Gods Help

• Pray for help
• In choosing
• Acting on your choice
• God is with you caring for you and can help when
  you honestly seek the truth

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N Name your decision

• Even if you plan to delay, say so
• Dont just drift
• (Not to decide, is to have made a decision.)

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To make good decisions

• Have an open attitude
• Avoid bias
• Seeing only 1 side
• (People will always have some kind of bias)

21
Active vs. Passive Listening

• Active
• Open to world around us
• Mind engaged, thinking
• Sorting, evaluating
• Passive
• No choices sit down listen

22
To listen actively

• Sense of humility
• Be open to insights observations of others
• Dont presume you have all the answers

23
LISTEN

• A GOOD APPROACH TO MAKING GOOD MORAL CHOICES

24
L Look for the facts

• What is the real situation?
• What is at stake?
• What are the actions?

25
I Imagine Possibilities

• What are the consequences?
• What are the options?
• Are there creative approaches?

26
S Seek Insight beyond your own

• Ask for help from
• Family
• Friends
• Religion
• Wise persons
• Moral principles

27
T Turn Inward

• What are your own feelings?
• What have you learned from your own experiences?
• What are your
• Motives?
• Intentions?
• Values? (whats important to you?)

28
E Expect Gods Help

• Pray for help
• In choosing
• Acting on your choice
• God is with you caring for you and can help when
  you honestly seek the truth

29
N Name your decision

• Even if you plan to delay, say so
• Dont just drift
• (Not to decide, is to have made a decision.)

30
Moral Decision-Making (p. 58)
Be guided by Church teachings
Guided by Gospel
Feelings
Intuition
Reflect on personal experiences circumstances
The community, Social sciences
Senses