Conscience

• Conscience


  Means to judge with knowledge
• Conscience


  • Our conscience plays a vital role in moral decision-making
  • It serves as an internal compass that guides individuals in determining what is right or wrong based on their values, beliefs and ethical principles
• Conscience


  • Decisions are made in light of who we are and our call to become
  • It goes beyond mere obedience
  • Being honest with your inner sense of what's right (which some people call the voice of God inside us) may sometimes mean doing things that are not what society or the Church expects
  • We are bound to follow our conscience faithfully
• Elements of Conscience


  • Knowledge of right and wrong
  • Obligation to act in accordance with this knowledge
• Sin


  • Result of failing to do what we know we should do
  • Sin is a free choice
  • No one sins by accident
• Formation of Conscience


  • A good conscience requires lifelong formation
  • Formation comes from reflection, prayer, discussion and analysis, differences, disagreements, and errors
• Conscience


  • The power to judge with knowledge
  • Conscience is not just our feelings about what is or is not against the law of love
  • Feelings can change from day to day, so they are not reliable
  • In order to judge, conscience needs to be informed, to be guided by necessary information and take all the steps needed
• How to make a good decision

  • See
  • Judge
  • Act
  • Evaluate
• Informed Conscience


  • When a person uses the 4-step process, then their decision will be made with an informed conscience
  • There is a better chance of the person making the right decision because they have really thought about it
  • An 'informed conscience' simply means they have all the necessary information needed to make the best decision
• • Not all decisions made with an informed conscience will be the right one
  • People can make mistakes and ignore the evidence
  • Often people make decisions without really thinking them through
  • This is selfish and ill-informed
• Making a good moral choice can sometimes be a matter of life or death