📖Overview

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Conscience is the most secret core and sanctuary of the human person, where one is alone with God whose voice echoes in the depths of the heart. It is a judgment of reason by which the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that one is about to perform, is in the process of performing, or has already completed. In all one says and does, the human person is obliged to follow faithfully what he or she knows to be just and right. Conscience enables one to assume responsibility for the acts performed. The dignity of the human person implies and requires the uprightness of moral conscience, which includes the perception of the principles of morality (synderesis), their application in the given circumstances by practical discernment of reasons and goods, and the judgment formed about concrete acts yet to be performed or already performed. A well-formed conscience is upright and truthful; it formulates its judgments according to reason, in conformity with the true good willed by the wisdom of the Creator. The education and formation of conscience is a lifelong task. The Word of God, the teachings of the Church, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the witness and advice of others all contribute to the formation of conscience. An erroneous conscience, when the error is not the person's fault (invincible ignorance), does not lose its dignity, but one must always seek the truth. A person must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience but is also responsible for forming that conscience rightly.

💡Key Points