Catholic Medical Quarterly Volume 64(2) May 2014
Correspondence
Conscience
Dr Adrian Treloar
In
his letter on conscience (CMQ
Feb 2014) Dr Flood reminds us that “conscience
ultimately remains the personal responsibility of the individual
even if that person disagrees with the Church.” That is
indeed fully true. But the fallibility of all men means that we
are not acquitted merely by following our Conscience. St Paul
tells us (1 Corinthians 4: 1-5) that “what is expected of
stewards is that each one should be found worthy of his
trust… True, my conscience does not reproach me at all, but that
does not prove that I am acquitted: the Lord alone is my
judge. There must be no premature passing of judgement.
Leave that until the Lord comes.” St Paul was
acutely aware that living by one's conscience is
essential, but equally aware that our conscience must
be formed by Christ’s teaching and the scriptures.
We too, must follow our consciences and do what we believe to be right. But we can easily fall into error if we are not careful to form and audit our consciences. Therefore that conscience must always be formed by our Holy Mother the Church and we must always aim to show a “Catholic response” to the challenges we face. In fact, if we are willing to look, we can often can see that the Church’s teaching on so many issues guides us to a better way. Working carefully, and conscientiously following the Church’s teaching leads to a better, more stable and more loving society. It also enables us to grow ever more hopeful of our salvation.