In the beginning of the Mass in the penitential rite we all say: I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – July 2023
June 23, 2023 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
When Conscience Is Mistaken Question: Much has been made of the primacy of conscience today in morals. Even some bishops have claimed that as long as a subject is following their conscience, the Church must support their decision no matter … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – March 2023
February 24, 2023 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
The Challenges of Priestly Formation Question: How can the challenges of priestly realities be controlled within formation? Answer: Over the years there have been numerous documents approved by the USCCB for priestly formation in the … [Read more...]
Conscience and the Service of Authority
Drawing Pastoral Insights from Joseph Ratzinger
January 27, 2022 by Fr. Niccolo Florencio
There is, at present, a crisis of authority within the Catholic Church, expressed no more clearly by the clamor for democratization outfitted by the various movements of protest which attempt to raze the “old guard” of bureaucratic est … [Read more...]
Conscience: Christ’s Whisper in Our Moral Life
April 9, 2021 by Eric Manuel Torres
Elijah, who is “very jealous for the Lord” (1 Kgs 19:4, 14), meets the Lord on Mount Horeb. On the mount, a powerful wind blows, then an earthquake shakes the ground, and then a fire erupts; however, the Lord is not in these great “voices.” … [Read more...]
Newman: Conscience as an Ongoing Activity
October 30, 2020 by Joseph P. Mullin Jr.
St. John Henry Newman eloquently presents his idea of conscience as something actively engaged both with the realities of lived experience and with direct apprehension of a particular situation. Logic is part of one’s assessment of the s … [Read more...]
Newman‘s Concept of Conscience in His Quest for Moral Truth
February 10, 2020 by Fr. Piotr Olszanowski
The question about truth is vividly present in the teachings of the Catholic Church throughout the ages. The discourse on truth — which resounds in the question posed to Christ, “What is truth?” (Jn 18:38) — has been heard throughout the cen … [Read more...]
Conscience as Relationship, Part II
A Dialogue through Which God Takes Us beyond Ourselves
February 10, 2020 by Francis Etheredge
In the second of these two articles on conscience[1. See Francis Etheredge, “Conscience as Relationship, Part I: General Principles and Personal Experience,” Homiletic & Pastoral Review (Jan 2020), hpr … [Read more...]
Conscience
The Echo of God's Voice
January 28, 2019 by Brent Withers
Conscience is the voice of God, whereas it is fashionable on all hands now to consider it in one way or another a creation of man.[1. John Henry Newman, in The Genius of John Henry Newman: Selections from his Writings, ed. Ian Ker (Oxford: … [Read more...]
An Advent Examination
November 30, 2018 by Fr. Kenneth G. Davis, OFM Conv.
Advent is not a season of penance, but of preparation. Advent prepares us for the two comings of Christ, that is, the Incarnation and the Eschaton. However, amid the garlands and the gifts, we all know how easy it is to become wrapped up in … [Read more...]
Questions Answered
September 18, 2018 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Question: I truly appreciate our parish priest. Everyone loves and admires him. People find it sometimes difficult to express their appreciation. How does one go about showing their appreciation for their priest? Answer: One hears so … [Read more...]
John and John: The Last Two Prophets of the Parousia
June 13, 2016 by Deacon Thomas Baca
Prophecy and conscience can be compared to a bride and a groom. Their relative individual strength depends upon the strength of the relationship between them. Prophecy, like a groom, offers itself to the conscience so that the conscience, … [Read more...]
The Rights of Conscience
How English Catholic Schools Secured State Grants in an Age of Popular Anti-Catholicism
November 29, 2015 by Richard J. Janet, PhD
The United Kingdom was anything but united in the early years of the long reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). The ongoing process of industrialization created deep economic dislocation, with a growing gap between rich and poor. Urban … [Read more...]
Conscience, Freedom, and the “Law of Graduality” at the Synod on the Family
September 14, 2015 by Rev. Thomas V. Berg, PhD
Ideas have consequences—we well know. My concern here is a series of problematic and closely related conceptions of conscience, human freedom, the moral qualification of human acts, and progress in moral living that might be operative in t … [Read more...]
Questions Answered
September 9, 2014 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Can you explain what the general rights and duties are of the state in regard to the family? What does the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) mean by their term “Creative Fidelity”? Question: Can you explain what the gen … [Read more...]
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