MORAL THEOLOGY
CHAPTER 3:
CHRISTIAN MORAL CONSCIENCE
 The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as
it is by consumerism, is the desolation and
anguish born of a complacent yet covetous
heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures,
and a blunted conscience. Whenever our interior
life becomes caught up in its own interests and
concerns, there is no longer room for others, no
place for the poor, God’s voice is no longer
heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt,
and the desire to do good fades.” (Pope Francis,
Evangelii Gaudium, no 2).
CONSCIENCE IN THE SACRED SCRIPTURES
 The word conscience does not occur in the Old
Testament, except in the Book of Wisdom
(17:11) which says, “For wickedness, of its
nature cowardly, testifies in its own
condemnation, and because of a distressed
conscience, always magnifies misfortunes.”
Although the word conscience occurs once in
the Old Testament but its reality takes place in
different ways like mind and heart, and justice.
Exegetes said that the main reason is the
conviction that God and man directly confront
one another. On the other hand, different
versions of the Bible will give us a good
comparison when it comes to Psalms 16:7 which
the word conscience or its equivalent may be
mentioned.
DIFFERENT TRANSLATIONS
 Good News Bible:
 I praise the Lord, because he guides
me, and in the night my conscience
warns me.
 New American Bible:
 I bless the Lord who counsels me; even
at night my heart exhorts me.
 The Jerusalem Bible:
 I bless Yahweh, who is my counsellor,
and in the night my inmost-self instructs
me.
 Christian Community Bible:
 I bless the Lord who counsels me; even
at night my inmost-self instructs me.
 New Revised Standard Version:
 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also, my heart instructs me.
NEW TESTAMENT
 Likewise, in the New Testament, Jesus never
mentioned in his teachings about conscience, as
presented by the four evangelists. Perhaps,
conscience has an equivalence to the “spiritual
eye” when he says, “If the light in you is
darkness, how great is the darkness” (Matthew
6:23). In the Gospel of Luke, he says, “If your
whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it
will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays
gives you light” (11:36). It should be noted that
this time there is also a direct communication
between Jesus Christ and the apostles and
other people.
 But Paul used the word conscience many times
in his letters. In his Second Letter to the
Corinthians (1:12), he says, “For our boast is
this, the testimony of our conscience that we
have conducted ourselves in the world, and
especially toward you, with the simplicity and
sincerity of God, not by human wisdom but by
the grace of God”. Paul, in addressing the
Christians of Rome (13:5) for obedience to
authority, he says, “It is necessary to be subject
not only because of the wrath but also because
of conscience.” There are also some ways or
characteristics which Paul used the word
conscience, such as the following:
 Conscience as a “witness” or mutually
accusing and defending thought
(Romans 2:15; 9:1; 2 Corinthians 1:12)
 Weak conscience (1 Corinthians 8:7-13;
10:23-30)
 Pure conscience (1 Timothy 3:9; 2
Timothy 1:3)
 Good conscience (Acts 23:1)
 Corrupted conscience (Titus 1:15)
OTHER UNDERSTANDINGS OF CONSCIENCE
 There are different understandings of
conscience outside Christian theology. Ancient
people spoke of “heart” and “loins” as the
innermost nature of man with reference to
responsibility and morality. It is the seat of
intimate thought and sentiment. For Prussian
German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-
1804), conscience is the “interior court of justice
in man.” For Austrian founder of psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), conscience is the
“superego,” which is a set of demands and
habits learned from parents and from society
which require the individual to live and act
according to prescribed rules and standards.
The 20th century German philosophers such as
Max Scheler (1874), Nicolai Hartmann (1882-
1950), Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), Karl
Jaspers (1883-1969) see conscience as the “call
of care,” or the “voice of being”, which voice
speaking to man is the man himself. Swiss
psychologist Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961)
understands conscience as the “self.” He also
described it as the “court of appeal.”
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CHRISTIAN MORAL CONSCIENCE

CONSCIENCE IN CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY TYPES OF CONSCIENCE

 However, Christian theology viewed conscience  According to the conformity to the objective
in different ways. St. Thomas Aquinas, in the moral order: correct or erroneous.
13th century, used the term synderesis for the  “Correct” conscience corresponds to
core of conscience as a “habitus of reason,” as objective moral values and precepts.
the innate remnant awareness of absolute good.  “Erroneous” conscience, one which
He regarded conscience as God-given reason mistakenly judges something as morally
attempting to make right decisions. He used good which is objectively evil (CFC
“conscience in relation to the virtue of prudence 727).
to explain why some people appear to be less  Kinds of erroneous conscience:
morally enlightened than others, their weak will Erroneous conscience, due to
being incapable of adequately balancing their ignorance, can be vincibly or
own needs with those of others.” invincibly.
 However, most scholars reckoned the word  The vincibly erroneous
"synderesis" to be a corruption of the Greek conscience is culpable,
word syneidêsis appearing in the medieval because with some
manuscripts of Jerome's Commentary for St. good will its error could
Augustine, conscience is the place of the be corrected. In other
innermost encounter between God and man, words, the ignorance
and therefore the voice of God. Bonaventure could still be overcome
and the great mystics of the Middle Ages place by a person’s
the innermost ground of conscience in the reasonable effort. In
“scintilla animae” the spark of the soul. Recent this case, the person is
theologians generally place conscience in the morally accountable
ground of the soul, which is a tradition also of the for his actions.
Franciscan school.  Invincibly erroneous
SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL, conscience, on the
GAUDIUM ET SPES, 16. other hand, is
 In the depths of our conscience, we detect a law inculpable, since the
which does not impose, but which holds us to person has no
obedience. Always summoning us to love good awareness of the
and avoid evil, the voice of conscience, when possibility of error. In
necessary, speaks to our heart: do this, shun other words, the
that. For we have in our heart a law written by ignorance could not be
God; to obey it is the very dignity of being overcome even by a
human; according to it we will be judged. person’s sincere effort
Conscience is the most secret core and which, therefore, the
sanctuary of a person. There we are alone with person is not morally
God, whose voice echoes in our depths. In a accountable for his or
wonderful manner conscience reveals that law her actions.
which is fulfilled by love of God and neighbor.”  According to the action considered: antecedent,
 In fidelity to conscience, Christians are joined concomitant, and consequent conscience.
with the rest of humanity in the search for truth,  Antecedent conscience is one which the
and for the genuine solution to the numerous judgment on the morality of an action
problems which arise in the life of individuals and the obligation to perform or omit it
from social relationships. Hence the more right is passed before the action is translated
conscience holds sway, the more persons and into reality. This is the conscience that
groups turn aside from blind choice and strive to commands, exhorts, permits, or forbids
be guided by the objective norms of morality. the act. It is in this stage that there is
Conscience frequently errs from invincible prior deliberation or discernment of the
ignorance without losing its dignity. The same values.
cannot be said for those who care but little for
truth and goodness, or for a conscience which
by degrees as a result of habitual sin.
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CHRISTIAN MORAL CONSCIENCE
 Concomitant conscience refers to the
actual awareness on the moral
responsibility of the act. Here, the
person really knows that what he or she
is performing, in the here and now, is
good or bad.
 Consequent conscience is one which
evaluates a deed already done or
comitted. This type of conscience
approves, excuses, reproves, or
accuses one on the action that had
been performed. However, regardless
of the result, it would not change the
meaning and nature of the act
previously performed.
 According to the degree of persons’ subjective
certitude that judges and acts: certain or
doubtful.
 Certain conscience is one which makes
a judgment without fear of error
because the moral certainty of an act is
present.
 Doubtful conscience is one which could
not make immediate judgment to
pursue an act due to scarcity of
certainty. Here, a person should not
make an act, otherwise such person
committing an act is sinful.
 Perplexed Conscience
 The perplexed conscience is a type of
erroneous conscience which, in a
conflict of duties, fears sin in whatever
choice it makes. In this type of
conscience, the actor is situated in a
conflict of interest between telling the
truth and the other obligation (like utang
na loob). The perplexed person cannot
make personal decision of his own
because of emotional disturbance that
creates confusion in making a moral
judgment.
 “Another example is that the mother of
a sick child fears that if she does not go
for Sunday Mass, she commits sin; at
the same time, she fears that if she does
not look after the sick child, she commits
sin.”
 Lax Conscience or Dulled Conscience
 The lax conscience is inclined, on
insufficient grounds, to judge a thing to
be lawful which is sinful, or something to
be light sin which is actually a grave
one. Cheating in business, like over-
pricing, inferior quality of goods, or
substandard materials used in
construction projects, are examples of
this type of conscience. There is an
exaggerated minimalism of the moral
demands. The person with lax
conscience usually justifies the errors or
mistakes by simply saying that we are
just human beings, therefore, weak,
limited, and sinners.
 Pharisaical Conscience
 Pharisaical conscience is very strict on
small things but blind on large matters.
In its legalistic sense, this kind of
conscience gives more importance to
the letter or the text of the law rather
than going into the true meaning and
intention of the law. “The person with
pharisaical conscience must be
facilitated to judge important areas of
moral responsibility with their
corresponding weight or gravity, and so
not in a minimal way.”
 Scrupulous Conscience
 Scrupulous conscience is one in which
apprehension and fear are present
which hinders the person to have the
sense of security on the admissibility of
an action already performed or still to be
performed. A scrupulous person is often
tortured by doubts that he or she may
be living in mortal sin, or he may be
constantly beset with an unfounded fear
of having committed sin. Scrupulosity is
a religious-moral-psychological state of
anxiety, fear and indecision. It consists
of a more or less constant,
unreasonable, and morbid fear of sin,
error and guilt. Hence, the person is
emotionally disturbed.
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CHAPTER 3:
CHRISTIAN MORAL CONSCIENCE
DIFFERENT VIEWS ON THE ERRONEOUS
CONSCIENCE
 French Benedictine abbot Bernard of Clairvaux
(1090-1153) believed that the root of sin was
ignorance. For him, actions contrary to the law
and its teaching, even though done out of
ignorance are bad. Thus, if we told a lie,
regardless of our motivation, we sinned. For
French scholastic philosopher Peter Abelard
(1079-1142), the will, or consent, determines
actions as good or bad. If we are in error, but we
do not consent to it, there is no sin, example is
telling a lie in order to protect the life of a person.
For Italian Dominican friar and philosopher
Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), the determining
factor is knowledge. Thus, if the person never
heard that all lies were wrong then lied to protect
some, the person is excused. For an English
Franciscan friar, scholastic philosopher William
of Ockham (1285-1347), adopting Thomas
argument, said that one who exercises the
conscience responsibly, even if it is erroneous,
receives merit. Ockham recognized that
ignorance is sometimes blameworthy and also
the goodness of an erroneous conscience acting
in good faith.
 For Alphonsus Ligouri (1696-1787) (+1787),
patron saint of moral theologians, if a person
acted out of love or charity when committing
error, then not only is the person excused, but
the person is good. In 1953, Francis Connell
(1888-1967), the Dean of Catholic University in
Washington, D.C., wrote that if a person acts out
of an erroneous conscience, though the action
is certainly not per se willed by God, “God will
reward him for sincerely following his
conscience.”
 The Catechism of the Catholic Church, however,
teaches that “the gravity of a lie is measured
against the nature of the truth it deforms, the
circumstances, the intentions of the one who lies
and the harm suffered by its victims. If a lie in
itself only constitutes a venial sin, it becomes
mortal when it does injury to the virtues of justice
and charity” (CCC, no. 2484).
FORMATION OF CONSCIENCE
 Our conscience is not something “automatic.” It
is something shaped through all the many and
complex factors that enter into our growth to
Christian maturity (CFC, no. 704). Our
consciences are formed gradually through the
natural educational agents of our family
upbringing, our school training, parish
catechesis, and the influence of friends and
social contracts (CFC, no. 725). A “Christian
conscience” is formed gradually in faith and
through personal and ecclesial prayer-life:
 By attending to the Word of God and the
teachings of the church,
 By responsiveness to the indwelling
Holy Spirit, and
 By critical reflection on our concrete
moral choices and experiences of daily
life (CFC, no. 726).
SOURCES OF ERRORS OF JUDGMENT IN MORAL
CONDUCT
 Ignorance of Christ and His Gospel
 Bad example given by others
 Enslavement to one’s passions
 Assertion to a mistaken notion of autonomy of
conscience
 Rejection of the Church’s authority and her
teaching
 Lack of conversion and of charity
CONSCIENCE AND THE CIVIL LAW
 Politically, the State has inherent powers which
everyone is bound to obey, of course with the
observance of due process. No one can refuse
to pay taxes, or decline to sell his or her private
property to the government for public use upon
just compensation, or reject to be regulated of
one’s right merely by reason that it is contrary to
his or her conscience. They are Police Power,
Power of Eminent Domain, and Power of
Taxation.
 Police power is the power of the State to enact
such laws or regulations in relation to persons
and property as may promote public health,
public morals, public safety and the general
welfare and convenience of the people.
 Power of eminent domain is the power of the
state or of those to whom the power has been
delegated to take (or expropriate) private
property for public use upon paying to the owner
a just compensation to be ascertained according
to law.
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CHRISTIAN MORAL CONSCIENCE
 Power of taxation is the power of the State to
impose charge or burden upon persons, or
property, or property rights, for the use and
support of the government and to enable it to
discharge its appropriate functions.
 As part of man’s social responsibility, every
citizen has duties and obligations to the State. In
fact, the Constitution of the Philippines (Article II,
Section 4) mandates, “the prime duty of the
Government is to serve and protect the people.
The Government may call upon the people to
defend the State and, in the fulfillment thereof,
all citizens may be required, under the
conditions provided by law, to render personal
military or civil service.” Laws promulgated by
the Government are actually justified according
to the presumption of good intention in its
formulation. The Civil Code of the Philippines
(Article 10) provides, “in case of doubts in the
interpretation or application of laws, it is
presumed that the lawmaking body intended
right and justice to prevail.” It should be recalled,
however, that when civil law contradicts with the
natural law, man is not bound by it.
 In the Acts of the Apostles, Peter and the other
apostles were questioned by the High Priest
before the Council, because they were
prohibited to teach in the name of Jesus Christ,
they strongly answered, “We must obey God,
not men” (5:27-27). Man, therefore, should
follow his own conscience for God’s voice
echoes in his dept. But St. Paul, on the other
hand, has this teaching: “Everyone must obey
state authorities, because no authority exists
without God’s permission, and the existing
authorities have been put there by God.
Whoever opposes the existing authority
opposes what God has ordered: and anyone
who does so will bring judgment on himself.”[
Romans 13:1-2. ] In this context, it should be
stressed that religion here should not be used to
evade family task and social responsibility (2
Thessalonian 3:6-12).
 Though pastors are not always experts to every
problem which arises, the layman, in making his
own decision, must be sure that his or her
conscience is properly formed and informed.
[Gaudium et Spes. No. 43.] The Church teaches
that everyone is bound to follow his or her
conscience faithfully in all his or her activity so
that he may come to God, who is his or her last
end. Therefore, he or she must not be forced to
act contrary to his or her conscience.
 “In matters of faith and morals, the bishops
speak in the name of Christ, and the faithful are
to accept their teaching and adhere to it with a
religious assent of soul. This religious
submission of will and of mind must be shown in
a special way to the authentic teaching authority
of the Roman Pontiff, even when he is not
speaking ex cathedra.” [Lumen Gentium,
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, no. 25.]
Hence, between these two choices, the
presumption is always in favor of the
magisterium. [Sharing the Light of Faith. The
National Catechetical Directory of the U.S.
1978.] After all, the Church is the mystical Body
of Christ, and the Head of this Body is Christ
[Lumen Gentium, no. 7.] According to Pope
Benedict XVI, in his Encyclical Letter Deus
Caritas Est on Christian Love published on
December 25, 2005, “whoever loves Christ
loves the Church, and desires the Church to be
increasingly the image and instrument of the
love which flows from Christ” (no. 33).
 “The task of giving an authentic interpretation of
the Word of God, whether in its written form or
in the form Tradition, has been entrusted to the
living teaching office of the Church alone.”[ Dei
Verbum, no. 10.] It is the Church duty, therefore,
with the divine command and with the help of the
Holy Spirit to guard reverently and expound
faithfully the Word of God. “The faithful are
obliged to acknowledge and respect the specific
moral precepts declared and taught by the
Church in the name of God, the Creator and
Lord.”
MORAL CONSCIENCE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL
CONSCIENCE
 Moral conscience and psychological conscience
are actually related in the moral-decision making
process.
 Moral conscience presupposes psychological
conscience although psychological conscience
does not need moral conscience. Moral
conscience is conceived to have given the
understanding proper to the moral discernment
of believers. Psychological conscience is
thought not to be conveyor of the unconditional
and decisive appeal of God.
 Objective moral standard would make sense
when the human person has a well-developed
sense of subjectivity.
 Psychological consciousness and moral
conscience must go together upon which
personal moral responsibility rests.
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CHAPTER 3:
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MORAL CONSCIENCE AND MORAL DISCERNMENT

 Discernment is necessary in making moral
choices which bring about self-realization
consistent to the call of God. Discernment plays
a vital role in the moral decision-making
process. It connotes a graced ability to detect
what is the appropriate response to the invitation
of God.
 Moral conscience is above all a form of
discernment, a concrete moral discernment.
 Discernment depends on the proper integrity
and openness of moral conscience to the
prompting of the Spirit.

FORMATION OF CONSCIENCE AND EDUCATION

OF CONSCIENCE
 Knowing the moral law is called the education of
conscience, but the training of mind and will to
become submissive to the moral law is called
formation of conscience.
 Moral conscience is sufficient and safe guide
only when it is well educated and well formed.
 Moral conscience must be constantly educated
and formed in order to serve the truth and in
order to commit always to what is good.
CONCLUSION
 Whereas the natural law discloses the objective
and universal demands of the moral good,
conscience is the application of the law to a
particular case, this application of the law thus
becomes an inner dictate for the individual, a
summons to do what is good in this particular
situation. Thus, conscience formulates moral
obligation in the light of the natural law.
“Knowing what is good and what is evil” is not
enough for a Christian moral life but rather
“doing good and avoiding evil”.
 But one can no longer hear the voice of God that
echoes in the depths of his or her conscience
because the interior life is already caught up in
its own interests and concerns. This is the
reason why an intimate relationship with the
Crucified and Glorified Jesus should be
developed, nourished, and sustained through
constant prayer and reception of sacraments
because only through him that one can be freed
from the slavery of sin.