The key idea of this section on Catholic Morality is understanding conscience and all that is involved with it. Conscience pushes a person to do good and avoid evil. It is a law in which one must follow at all times. In one’s conscience, God’s voice echoes. Conscience is a judgment of reason where a person sees the moral quality of an action. People are obligated to listen to their conscience (via interiority) at all times, to apply moral value systems to a situation (one is upright if he does this), and must take responsibility for whatever outcome occurs. One must always act in accordance to his or her conscience, if they do not, they are guilty of erroneous judgment. However, if one follows his or her conscience and is led to make a wrong moral decision, they probably are guilty of invincible ignorance. This means their conscience is misinformed and they shouldn’t be held morally accountable for their mistake. Along with well-formed conscience come the theological virtues (faith, hope, charity) and the cardinal virtues (justice, fortitude, prudence, temperance). An offence against conscience, as well as reason and truth, is considered a sin. Sin can be avoided by following ones conscience. The LISTEN, OPTION, and eight-step method are all ways of examination to make sure one does follow their conscience.
Three Important Ideas
The Ten Building Blocks of Catholic Social Teaching (see Webassign)
The Ten Building Blocks of Catholic Social Teaching are principles compiled from a 10-point summary of bishop teaching on the applicability of Catholic social principles to the economy. These principles range from the government’s role in its direct involvement with its people to principles on the basic core of human life. This is a good guideline to Catholic social teaching and is important to anyone who wants to know the Churches fundamental stance on social issues.
Sin An offence against conscience, as well as reason and truth, is considered a sin. A sin can be split into two classifications: a venial sin and a mortal sin. A venial sin is when charity is hurt, but still exists. A mortal sin destroys charity all together. One’s relationship with God is completely cut off in a mortal sin because of the path they chose to take. Through a venial sin, the relationship is just hurt.
Object, Intent, and Circumstance
The morality of a human act depends on these three things: object, intent, and circumstance. Object is the matter of the human act. It is the choice one makes. Intention is the motive behind a choice or a goal one is trying to accomplish. Circumstances are the secondary elements of a moral act. It includes the consequences of an action. It also establishes the degree or how much someone is responsible. The object, intent, and circumstance are the fundamental parts of the morality of an action.
Would I even sit down and go though the OPTION method or any of the others even if I had the time to do so? Would I be able to make a morally sound action in a split second decision? I know I am at risk at making a mistake when having to make a decision very fast. I think depending on the situation, I would be able to make the moral decision, but the risk of making a mistake is always there. I doubt I would ever go through the OPTION method or any of the others if I had to make a decision, however I would use a personal method of using interiority to ask what God would want me to do.
How Can I Be A Better and More Faithful Person?
I think the Ten Building Blocks of Catholic Social Teaching is extremely valuable because it is how we can apply Jesus’ moral and social teachings in our everyday life. Also by better understanding my conscience, I can avoid erroneous judgment and continue to inform my conscience to make it as upright as it can be.
