On Conscience

On Conscience
Author: Joseph Ratzinger
Publisher: Ignatius Press
Total Pages: 92
Release: 2010-11-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1681493608

Prepared and co-published by the National Catholic Bioethics Center in Philadelphia, this book is a combination of two lengthy essays written by Cardinal Ratzinger and delivered in talks when he was head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Both talks deal with the importance of conscience and its exercise in particular circumstances. Ratzinger's reflections show that contemporary debates over the nature of conscience have deep historical and philosophical roots. He says that a person is bound to act in accord with his conscience, but he makes it clear that there must be reliable, proven sources for the judgment of conscience in moral issues, other than the subjective reflections of each individual. The always unique and profound insights that the new Pope Benedict XVI brings to perennial problems reminds the reader of his strong warning before the recent Papal conclave of the great dangers today of the "dictatorship of relativism."

Follow Your Conscience

Follow Your Conscience
Author: Peter Cajka
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2021-05-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 022676219X

What is your conscience? Is it, as Peter Cajka asks in this provocative book, “A small, still voice? A cricket perched on your shoulder? An angel and devil who compete for your attention?” Going back at least to the thirteenth century, Catholics viewed their personal conscience as a powerful and meaningful guide to align their conduct with worldly laws. But, as Cajka shows in Follow Your Conscience, during the national cultural tumult of the 1960s, the divide between the demands of conscience and the demands of the law, society, and even the church itself grew increasingly perilous. As growing numbers of Catholics started to consider formerly stout institutions to be morally hollow—especially in light of the Vietnam War and the church’s refusal to sanction birth control—they increasingly turned to their own consciences as guides for action and belief. This abandonment of higher authority had radical effects on American society, influencing not only the broader world of Christianity, but also such disparate arenas as government, law, health care, and the very vocabulary of American culture. As this book astutely reveals, today’s debates over political power, religious freedom, gay rights, and more are all deeply infused by the language and concepts outlined by these pioneers of personal conscience.

Conscience and Catholic Health Care

Conscience and Catholic Health Care
Author: DeCosse, David E.
Publisher: Orbis Books
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2017-03-16
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1608336778

Drawn from a two-day symposium at Santa Clara University, Conscience and Catholic Health Care provides a timely and up-to-date assessment of the Catholic understanding of conscience and how it relates to day-to-day issues in Catholic health care. The contributors explore a wide range of topics, including end-of-life care, abortion and sterilization, and the role of Catholic ethics particularly in hospital settings. With insights from key figures this book will serve as a useful text and reference for medical students and practitioners as well as a resource for ethics boards and chaplains in Catholic hospitals, most especially those merging with secular health institutions. In addition to the editors, contributors include Ron Hamel, Anne E. Patrick, Roberto Dell'Oro, Lisa Fullam, Kristin E. Heyer, John J. Paris, M. Patrick Moore, Jr., Cathleen Kaveny, Lawrence J. Nelson, Kevin T. FitzGerald, SJ, Gerald Coleman, Margaret R. McLean, Shawnee M. Daniels-Sykes, and Carol Taylor. (Publisher)

The Abuse of Conscience

The Abuse of Conscience
Author: Matthew Levering
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 472
Release: 2021-10-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1467463116

How important is conscience for the Christian moral life? In this book, Matthew Levering surveys twentieth-century Catholic moral theology to construct an argument against centering ethics on conscience. He instead argues that conscience must be formed by the revealed truths of Scripture as interpreted and applied in the church. Levering shows how conscience-centered ethics came to be—both prior to and following the Second Vatican Council—and how important voices from both the Catholic and Protestant communities criticized the primacy of conscience in favor of an approach that considers conscience within the broader framework of the Christian moral organism. Rather than engaging with current hot-button issues, Levering presents and deconstructs the work of twenty-six noteworthy theologians from the recent past in order to work through core matters. He begins by examining the place of conscience in Scripture and in the Catholic “moral manuals” of the twentieth century. He then explores the rebuttals to conscience-centered ethics offered by pre- and post-conciliar Thomists and the emergence of a new, even more problematic conscience-centered ethics in German thought. Amid this wide-ranging introduction to various strands of Catholic moral theology, Levering crafts an incisive intervention of his own against the abuse of conscience that besets the church today as it did in the last century.

Conscience and Calling

Conscience and Calling
Author: Anne E. Patrick
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 215
Release: 2013-07-18
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1441100598

This volume probes the meaning and ethical implications of the powerful symbol of vocation from the vantage of contemporary Catholic women, with particular attention to the experiences of women religious. Intended as a follow-up to Liberating Conscience: Feminist Explorations in Catholic Moral Theology, the new book will benefit many readers, including Catholic leaders, laity, and religious, as well as persons interested in Christian ethics and American religious history more generally. The work treats twentieth-century history and more recent developments, including tensions between the Vatican and progressive Catholics, the development of lay ministries, and the movement to ordain women deacons, priests, and bishops.

Conscience and Catholic Education

Conscience and Catholic Education
Author: Kevin C. Baxter
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2022
Genre: Catholic schools
ISBN: 9781626984523

"Collected essays from a symposium on the prominent issue of conscience and how it is related to Catholic education"--

Conscience and Catholicism

Conscience and Catholicism
Author: Robert J. Smith
Publisher: University Press of America
Total Pages: 196
Release: 1998
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9780761810384

The understanding and use of conscience in Roman Catholicism has undergone evaluation within the broader efforts of the renewal of moral theology called for by Vatican II. A review of the literature reveals that among contemporary Catholic moral theologians there are differences in the way conscience is understood and employed. These differences are reflected in the distinct perspectives of D

Conscience and Conversion

Conscience and Conversion
Author: Thomas Kselman
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2018-02-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 030023564X

Religious liberty is usually examined within a larger discussion of church-state relations, but Thomas Kselman looks at several individuals in Restoration France whose high-profile conversions fascinated their contemporaries. Exploring their reasons and the repercussions they faced, Kselman demonstrates how this expanded sense of liberty informs our secular age.

Introducing Moral Theology

Introducing Moral Theology
Author: William C. III Mattison
Publisher: Brazos Press
Total Pages: 432
Release: 2008-10-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1441201904

Whether in the cafeteria, classroom, or dorm lounge, questions abound on college campuses. Not only do students grapple with existential issues but they also struggle with ethical ones such as "Why be moral?" In Introducing Moral Theology, William Mattison addresses this question as well as grapples with the impact that religious belief has on day-to-day living. Structured in two parts, this unique text on Catholic moral theology covers cardinal virtues (temperance, prudence, fortitude, and justice) as well as theological virtues (faith, hope, and love). It is equipped with study questions, terms and their definitions, and illustrative case studies. Rooted in the Catholic tradition, this overview will also appeal to non-Catholics interested in virtue ethics.