Personal Conscience vs Church Authority

Analyzing a bold and often-misapplied statement about the authority of conscience, made by an authority on theology.

It’s time for another audioblog, my friends. This one is—once again—based on Episode 36 of The Catholic Experience Podcast, “Catholic Fairy Tales”. Boy, I’m getting a lot of mileage out of that episode! Let’s get to it.

In the ongoing dialogue between personal conscience and Church authority, a bold statement stands out, by someone you may not expect: “Over the Pope, as the expression of the binding claim of ecclesiastical authority, there still stands one’s own conscience.” Who would dare voice such a radical thought? If your guess is Joseph Ratzinger, later known as Pope Benedict XVI, you’re spot on. What are we to make of that statement?

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Joseph Ratzinger famously asserted that the authority of one’s conscience could trump the authority of the Church on moral issues. It sounds so perplexing, and so hard to believe, doesn’t it? To me it almost sounds like a prank. Ratzinger, after all, was the ‘doctrine pit pull’ for many years (Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith). So what are we to take from his statement? Is it okay to skip mass if we believe it’s okay? Is it acceptable, even expected of us, to abandon all of the Church’s doctrinal and moral teachings if our conscience tells us that we have a better, way of living than what the Church presents?

The Importance of Conscience 

The statement that our conscience must be obeyed above ecclesiastical authority challenges the traditional hierarchy and understanding of things. Is the Church our mother who teaches with the authority Jesus Christ, or is it essentially just an advisory committee? Ratzinger’s suggestion, ‘The authority of conscience trumps the authority of the church,’ is intriguing, to say the least. It’s a notion that suggests a personal moral compass must guide one’s actions, even when it conflicts with the edicts of the Church. 

Conscience as a Guide to God 

The foundation of this statement is the teaching that the conscience has an authority and it must not be hindered. That shouldn’t be understood as “I can do whatever I want to do, and you can’t tell me no!” The authority of conscience is impotent because it’s through our conscience that we seek, find, and follow God. Therefore, it is crucial that the conscience remain unhindered. And, yes, that means persons must be free to make mistakes, to choose wrongly, and—hopefully—to gradually be guided to choose better/correctly/rightly. 

The conscience must not only be respected by others, but also by ourselves. We must obey it, too! 

The Church, government, or even our own biases must not obstruct the conscience.. But let’s acknowledge the responsibility that comes with this freedom. The conscience must not be hindered, its authority is not optional. But following one’s conscience doesn’t absolve us of our moral obligations to also obey our conscience. The conscience must not only be respected by others, but also by ourselves. We must obey it, too! 

If my conscience tells me skipping Mass on Sunday is okay, I must still probe deeper. It’s essential to align personal beliefs with what the Church teaches, because the Church teaches Truth. So if I’m aware that the Church teaches that mass on Sundays is required and not optional, in obedience to my conscience I am required to explore that teaching and to try to understand it. It isn’t sufficient today “The priest and the Church must obey my conscientious decision to skip mass.” We, fully aware of the Church’s teaching about Sunday Mass requirements, must also obey the call of our conscience to seek out the correct or complete information that informs and guides this teaching. 

Conclusion

Many in the Church (priests and laypeople) twist and distort the teaching on the authority of conscience. They often try to give the conscience an authority over God Himself, over reality itself, and over divine revelation. It’s important to understand that the theology and philosophy behind “the conscience” is highly complex and nuanced. If you hear a segment, a talking point, or a bullet point about it, it will likely be confusing, or even misleading. Don’t be fooled when that happens. Joseph Ratzinger didn’t drop this “conscience” bomb and walk away. He was usually very thorough and complete. But many who quote and cite him are more reckless and build an entire theology around single statements.

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