298. Wrong judgment of conscience.

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 298

Ave Maria series

If someone in good conscience acts wrongly, (is he) guilty in God’s sight?

No.  If a person has thoroughly examined himself and arrived at a certain judgment, he must in any case follow his inner voice, even at the risk of doing something wrong.  [1790-1794, 1801-1802]

Soldiers in wartime face ethical choices of great importance.  That’s me as an air observer when my artillery battalion was in support of the Korean 1^stMarine Division in 1953.  During the conflict I would pray the rosary for peace while sitting atop our bunker on Hill 155 overlooking Panmunjom.  A week after I left Korea the truce was signed. 

On one occasion I was called upon to direct medium artillery on a gathering of North Korean women dressed in their bright red, blue and yellow garments. The women were out of range of the South Korean 105 mm light artillery. I refused to direct fire with the American longer range howitzers at the women because I considered them to be noncombatants.--  Don L. Bragg …..298

God does not blame us for the objective harm that results from a wrong judgment of conscience, provided that we ourselves are not responsible for having a badly formed conscience.  While it is quite true that ultimately one must follow one’s conscience, it must likewise be kept in mind that people have swindled, murdered, tortured, and betrayed others on the basis of what they wrongly supposed to be their conscience.

“Fear not that thy life shall come to an end, but rather fear that it shall never have a beginning.” Bl. John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

[1790-1794, 1801-1802]

ERRONEOUS JUDGMENT

1790  A human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience. If he were deliberately to act against it, he would condemn himself. Yet it can happen that moral conscience remains in ignorance and makes erroneous judgments about acts to be performed or already committed. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

1791  This ignorance can often be imputed to personal responsibility. This is the case when a man "takes little trouble to find out what is true and good, or when conscience is by degrees almost blinded through the habit of committing sin."(Gaudfium et Spes 16.)⁵⁹ In such cases, the person is culpable for the evil he commits. –CCC

1792  Ignorance of Christ and his Gospel, bad example given by others, enslavement to one's passions, assertion of a mistaken notion of autonomy of conscience, rejection of the Church's authority and her teaching, lack of conversion and of charity: these can be at the source of errors of judgment in moral conduct. –CCC

1793  If - on the contrary - the ignorance is invincible, or the moral subject is not responsible for his erroneous judgment, the evil committed by the person cannot be imputed to him. It remains no less an evil, a privation, a disorder. One must therefore work to correct the errors of moral conscience. –CCC

1794  A good and pure conscience is enlightened by true faith, for charity proceeds at the same time "from a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith."(1 Timothy 1:5; compare 1 Tim 1:8:9; 2 Tim 3:15; 1 Peter 3:21; Acts of the Apostles 24:16.)⁶⁰–CCC

The more a correct conscience prevails, the more do persons and groups turn aside from blind choice and try to be guided by objective standards of moral conduct.(Gaudium et Spes 16.)⁶¹–CCC

IN BRIEF

1801  Conscience can remain in ignorance or make erroneous judgments. Such ignorance and errors are not always free of guilt. –CCC

1802  The Word of God is a light for our path. We must assimilate it in faith and prayer and put it into practice. This is how moral conscience is formed. --CCC

People  Don L Bragg