“If a person feels with a certain conscience that they must murder another person, then they must murder that person”.
“A human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience. If he were to deliberately act against it, he would condemn himself. Yet it can happen that moral conscience remains in ignorance and make erroneous judgments about acts to be performed or already committed. CCC 1790”
“So, we can see that Father Miller and Bishop de Roo are not in error when they highlight the primacy of conscience in Catholic teaching”.
DR. BRETT SALKELD, Archdiocesan Theologian, Archdiocese or Regina, https://archregina.sk.ca/blogs/31427/3945/2015/10/conscience-or-church-teaching
I answer that Primacy of binding conscience debate is based upon whether or not CCC1790 and 1800 are true or false. I answer they are false on five counts. Remember that the CCC does not claim infallibly and not indefectibility nor entire completeness nor perfection in language and form of expression. The Catechism is said by Pope John Paul II to be a “sure guide to the Faith” and the Pope welcomed many suggested changes to the first edition and included some of them in the second edition. The quote “The Pope himself promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church, thus it contains no errs in either faith or morals” which is a claim of infallibility for the CCC, is untrue. Canon 749 §3 says ‘No doctrine is understood as defined infallibly unless this is manifestly evident.”
First count:
CCC 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.”
CCC 1800 A human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience.
I reply, no footnotes, no documentation, no quotes, no references, no citations, therefore completely unsubstantiated. The passages are not endorsed by any Pope, Encyclical or Church Council or Sacred Tradition. No Pope, Encyclical, or Church Council nor Sacred Tradition has ever declared this. Thus these passages cannot be considered correct Catholic teaching.
Second count:
Passage 1790 and 1800 wrongly declare undefined doctrine.
These two passages could easily be, and have been, misunderstood as undeclared Catholic doctrine since it contains two absolutist statements… [all] “human beings’ and “must” without any Pope, Encyclical, Church Counsel or Sacred Tradition as source. The CCC is not infallible and cannot declare doctrine on its own. Canon 749 §3 says ‘No doctrine is understood as defined infallibly unless this is manifestly evident.”
Third count:
These two CCC passages misunderstand/misinterpret the concept of binding of conscience to mean something the Church never teaches. The actually Catholic teaching conditions primacy/binding of conscience upon a person when they come to God, which makes conscience binding and must be obeyed when conscience serves God, when it leads him to God and they are bound to seek the truths of God which are binding which is contrary to CCC1790 and 1800 absolutist statements that all must follow conscience unconditionally and all are bound by that. Briefly but conclusively following is the actual Catholic teaching on binding by conscience.
God calls men to serve Him in spirit and in truth, hence they are bound in conscience. DH #11
On his part, man perceives and acknowledges the imperatives of the divine law through the mediation of conscience. In all his activity a man is bound to follow his conscience in order that he may come to God, the end and purpose of life. DH #3
Thus He spoke to the Apostles: "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have enjoined upon you" (Matt. 28: 19-20). On their part, all men are bound to seek the truth, especially in what concerns God and His Church, and to embrace the truth they come to know, and to hold fast to it…This Vatican Council likewise professes its belief that it is upon the human conscience that these obligations fall and exert their binding force. DIGNITATIS HUMANAE #1
Fourth count:
This is a very serious CCC blatant omission that contradicts and omits Church teaching that conscience is never an excuse, never binds, never justifies sins that are intrinsically evil and conscience obliges them not to commit intrinsic sin.
The negative precepts of the natural law are universally valid. They oblige each and every individual, always and in every circumstance. It is a matter of prohibitions which forbid a given action semper et pro semper, without exception, because the choice of this kind of behaviour is in no case compatible with the goodness of the will of the acting person, with his vocation to life with God and to communion with his neighbour. It is prohibited — to everyone and in every case — to violate these precepts. They oblige everyone, regardless of the cost, never to offend in anyone, beginning with oneself, the personal dignity common to all. VS #52
"Conscience is not an independent and exclusive capacity to decide what is good and what is evil. Rather there is profoundly imprinted upon it a principle of obedience vis-à-vis the objective norm which establishes and conditions the correspondence of its decisions with the commands and prohibitions which are at the basis of human behaviour". VS #60
- There are some things we must never do, as individuals or as a society, because they are always incompatible with love of God and neighbor. Such actions are so deeply flawed that they are always opposed to the authentic good of persons. These are called "intrinsically evil" actions. They must always be rejected and opposed and must never be supported or condoned. A prime example is the intentional taking of innocent human life, as in abortion and euthanasia. USCCB at https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/faithful-citizenship/forming-consciences-for-faithful-citizenship-part-one
“When conscience, this bright lamp of the soul (cf. Mt 6:22-23), calls "evil good and good evil" (Is 5:20), it is already on the path to the most alarming corruption and the darkest moral blindness”. EV #24 (obviously a seared conscience should not followed)
“The legal toleration of abortion or of euthanasia can in no way claim to be based on respect for the conscience of others” EV #71 (direct and complete rejection of any claims of respect of conscience of others who wrongly regard abortion).
“through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared with a hot iron” 1 Timothy 4:2 (obviously and quite apparently a person with a “seared” conscience should not follow his conscience.)
The Church has always taught that one may never choose kinds of behaviour prohibited by the moral commandments expressed in negative form in the Old and New Testaments. As we have seen, Jesus himself reaffirms that these prohibitions allow no exceptions: "If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments... You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness" (Mt 19:17-18). VS #52
But the negative moral precepts, those prohibiting certain concrete actions or kinds of behaviour as intrinsically evil, do not allow for any legitimate exception. They do not leave room, in any morally acceptable way, for the "creativity" of any contrary determination whatsoever. VS 67
Fifth count:
CCC 1790 and 1800 false interpretation can lead to murder and horrible errors.
“If a person feels with a certain conscience that they must murder another person, then they must murder that person. A human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience. If he were to deliberately act against it, he would condemn himself. Yet it can happen that moral conscience remains in ignorance and make erroneous judgments about acts to be performed or already committed. CCC 1790. “So, we can see that Father Miller and Bishop de Roo are not in error when they highlight the primacy of conscience in Catholic teaching”. DR. BRETT SALKELD, Archdiocesan Theologian, Archdiocese or Regina. https://archregina.sk.ca/blogs/31427/3945/2015/10/conscience-or-church-teaching
“However, Catholic women are wise. They know that when it comes to decision about reproductive health, following their conscience is the best thing they can do”. https://time.com/4045227/the-catholic-case-for-abortion-rights
“The Catholic Church has always held to the primacy of conscience and taught that individuals must follow their consciences even when they are wrong”. Anthony Fisher, Archbishop of Sydney, Australia, promoted and endorsed by EWTN at https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/catholic-teaching-on-conscience--dissent-10362
“The conscience is inviolable” - Chicago’s Archbishop Blase Cupich spoke of the primacy https://www.ncregister.com/news/the-primacy-of-conscience-the-synod-and-the-catholic-faith
I would like to invite all persons who discern true Catholic teaching to join me in an effort to change the two CCC passages.