The Role of the Well-Formed Conscience

Election day will soon be here. What role does one's faith play in determining how to vote? The Catholic Church teaches that we all have a moral resonsibility to be active participants in the political process. This means, as a minimum, that we responsibly exercise our right to vote.

Before we step into the voting booth, though, we must have a well-formed conscience, to ensure that we make good decisions, for the good of the entire community. Frequently this may mean putting aside any personal preferences, to sacrifice "what's in it for me", to achieve the greater good for one's society.

What does it mean to have a well-formed conscience? It means that we objectively study and reflect upon the teachings of our Church. We don't put our own spin on things, and we don't take teachings out of context to satisfy our own personal agendas; to do so would result in an ill-formed conscience.

And the fruits of a well-formed conscience? Quite simply put, it means that our actions are guided by truth, and not by personal opinions or feelings. However, the problem in our world today is that everyone thinks that they can have their own version of the truth. But "truth" is an absolute, not relative. Abortion is either evil, or it's not. It can't be both at the same time.

How are we to determine the truth? The moral relavatism that permeates our society is a result of everyone trying to determine truth on their own. The result is confusion and conflict of ideas. Fortunately, Christ assured us that he would not leave us alone to figure this stuff out. Rather, he assured us that the Holy Spirit would guide his apostles, and their successors, to teach us in matters of faith and morals. We don't have to go it alone! We can know the truth with 100% certainty, and the truth can set us free!

What Does the Catholic Church Really Teach About Abortion?

Recently, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, was interviewed for a national news program. When asked to explain the teachings of the Catholic Church regarding when life begins, she so badly mangled the true teachings of the Church that there was an instant and strong response from several U.S. Bishops, who sought to set the record straight. Of course, they didn't have the advantage of a Sunday morning news program to get the word out, so the extent to which they have been able to correct the misstatements of Speaker Pelosi is unknown.

As a convenience to you, the reader, here are links to the Bishop's statements in response to Speaker Pelosi's comments:

Archbishop Wuerl, Washington D.C.
Archbishop Chaput, Denver, CO
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

There are plenty more, I'm sure....