376. Can a moral conscience make erroneous judgments? (part 1)
(Comp 376) A person must always obey the certain judgment of his own conscience but
he could make erroneous judgments for reasons that may not always exempt him
from personal guilt. However, an evil act committed through involuntary
ignorance is not imputable to the person, even though the act remains
objectively evil. One must therefore work to correct the errors of moral
conscience.
“In brief”
(CCC 1801) Conscience can remain
in ignorance or make erroneous judgments. Such ignorance and errors are not
always free of guilt.
To deepen and
explain
(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. Yet it can
happen that moral conscience remains in ignorance and makes erroneous judgments
about acts to be performed or already committed. (CCC 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" (GS 16). In such cases, the person is
culpable for the evil he commits.
Reflection
(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 133) The Church
"forcefully and specifically exhorts all the Christian faithful... to
learn the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ, by frequent reading of the
divine Scriptures. ‘Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ’ (DV 25;
cf. Phil 3:8 and St. Jerome, Commentariorum
in Isaiam libri xviii prol.: PL 24, 17B). [IT CONTINUES]
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