FOLLOWING YOUR CONSCIENCE

Conscience and Authority  Who are authority figures in your life?  Do you have an obligation to listen to and follow their rules?  What would happen if we did not follow authority?

 Where does their authority come from?  We therefore have a duty to respect those with legitimate authority  Authority is to be exercised as a service, not as power seeking to control others

Authority and Responsibility  Exercise it in a reasonable way  Proper sense of priorities  Recognize values that are more important than others  Danger that they will try to grab power over others  People shouldn’t exercise any more control over others than they really need to.  Servant leader

What qualities do we look for in a leader? What principles do you think they should embody

Civil Authorities  Must respect basic human rights  Must put communities welfare before own self interest  Serve the common good  Promote freedom and autonomy  Take away freedom  Reason must be justifiable and proportionate

Citizens Duties  Obey just laws  Vote  Defense of country for just cause  Global good Samaritans

Subsidiarity  Keeping in mind the common good: a community with greater power should not interfere in the internal affairs of a community with lesser authority.  The greater should assist the lesser and help blend its activities with the rest of society’s.

Politics and morality  State: promote, serve and defend the common good  Legitimate only when it uses morally allowable means to do this  We are not obligated to follow dictators  Church: assesses social policy to be sure it is morally good  Helps people adjust social policy

Common Good  All the social factors that help people become humanly fulfilled  What are some of these factors?  We need to work for the universal common good as well  Society is us…things will change for the better only if we work for it

The Church and Individual Conscience  Pope and other church leaders  Guide Catholics in understanding and applying Jesus’ message  It is not to make decisions for us  We have an obligation to seek what is right and true  God has given us free will and the ability to use it by reasoning and acting according to truth

Church teaching and morality  Church leaders are obligated to study and teach about matters of faith and morals  Jesus, through the Church, has given pope and leaders authority to teach religious truths we need to live by in order to achieve salvation  Teaching is developed through Creed, Lord’s prayer, law of love, Ten Commandments, natural law, Scripture, Tradition

 In forming our conscience we need to attend to the sacred doctrine of the Church  All who are baptized are called to teach about religious truth as well  We worship God not just in church but in how we live

Infallibility  Catholics believe that God will not let the entire community be mistaken regarding beliefs about matters essential for salvation  Bishops and church leaders have responsibility to interpret the gospel and the moral law for the Church

Infallibility  Limited in its nature scope and implications  Applies in matters essential for salvation  Magisterium may use it to defend faith  Highest teaching authority, the pope and the bishops in union with him

Society and Individual Conscience  We belong to a number of communities  We owe certain loyalties to these  Are you ever justified in breaking the law?

What does Jesus say about the Law?  Love one another  Obey legitimate laws  Rules of conduct enacted by a rightful authority to promote and safeguard the common good

Just Laws  Moral Laws  Reasonable and in accordance with God’s law  What is God’s law?  Not Civil Law  Written on our hearts  Is always everywhere, binding

What did MLK say about just laws?  Man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God  Majority compels minority but is happy following themselves

Unjust Laws  Immoral laws  MLK Says:  Not rooted in eternal law or natural law  Majority compels minority but not obligated themselves  Why is segregation immoral?  Martin Buber-”I” - it vs. “I” thou

Conscientious Disobedience  When is it right to deliberately disobey a legitimate law or command?  We have a moral and legal obligation to follow just laws  We may have a duty to obey poor laws  We do not have an obligation to follow unjust, oppressive, and abusive laws

When conscientious disobedience is called for  When we in good conscience can break a law  Conscientious objectors:  Those who carefully deliberated reasons of conscience, actively and responsibly oppose civil laws they consider unjust  What are examples of conscientious disobedience?

Choosing Conscientious Objection  We have a duty and obligation to disobey laws or commands which contradict the moral order or violate basic human rights or gospel teachings  We must do so openly, lovingly, and with willingness to accept the penalty  Non-violently  Not defiantly  Includes teachers, parents, employers

Just War  Societies have the right to use morally acceptable means to defend themselves  Under strict conditions which must exist at the same time  Given to us by Thomas Aquinas

Must meet three criteria 1. It must be declared by a legitimate authority not by private groups or individuals 2. It must be waged for a just cause like protecting innocent life or preserving conditions necessary for basic human life 3. It must be waged with the right intention, not for vengeance, cruelty, or power

Later theologians added:  The war must be a last resort  The means used to win the war must be moral  The suffering and damage caused by the war must be proportionate to the good to be accomplished  There must be a reasonable chance of success  The terms of peace must be fair

With modern warfare is it likely that a war today could meet these criteria?  Nuclear, biological and chemical warfare present the danger of global destruction  How should we work to fight against such weapons?  Disarmament  The reduction, elimination or rendering harmless of destructive weapons

What is the only way to “win”?  Peace  This should always be our goal  How can we promote peace in our world?  Begins with us

Do on loose leaf:  What are the main sources of tension or aggression among the teenagers you know?  List ten practical ways of addressing these problems and achieving a greater peace among the students at your school.

Review  Conscience and authority  Legitimate authority  Civil authority  Justifiable  Proportionate  Politics and the Church  Common Good

Review  Society and Individual Conscience  Just/unjust laws  Objectively/subjectively right/wrong  God’s law  Conscientious Disobedience  MLK’s letter  When is it called for?  Why?  How should we do it?  Just war  Disarmament  Peace