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314 • Part III. Christian Morality: The Faith Lived
The Formation of Conscience
The formation of a good conscience is another fundamental element of
Christian moral teaching. “Conscience is a judgment of reason by which
the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act” (CCC,
no. 1796). “Man has in his heart a law inscribed by God. . . . His con-
science is man’s most secret core, and his sanctuary” (GS, no. 16).
Conscience represents both the more general ability we have as
human beings to know what is good and right and the concrete judg-
ments we make in particular situations concerning what we should do
or about what we have already done. Moral choices confront us with
the decision to follow or depart from reason and the divine law. A good
conscience makes judgments that conform to reason and the good that
is willed by the Wisdom of God. A good conscience requires lifelong
formation. Each baptized follower of Christ is obliged to form his or her
conscience according to objective moral standards. The Word of God
is a principal tool in the formation of conscience when it is assimilated
by study, prayer, and practice. The prudent advice and good example of
others support and enlighten our conscience. The authoritative teach-
ing of the Church is an essential element in our conscience formation.
Finally, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, combined with regular examination
of our conscience, will help us develop a morally sensitive conscience.
Because our conscience is that inner sanctuary in which we listen
to the voice of God, we must remember to distinguish between our sub-
jective self and what is objectively true outside ourselves. We can be sub-
jectively in error about something that is objectively true. On the objec-
tive level, if our conscience is “correct,” then there is no error between
what is internally perceived to be true and truth itself. If there is an
incorrect conscience, that means that the conscience is erroneous in its
view of truth.
On the subjective level we can have a “certain” conscience, which
means we believe that our conscience is in conformity with what is objec-
tively true. A person can have a “certain” conscience on the subjective
level but an “incorrect” one on the objective level. For example, a person
thinks that Ash Wednesday is a Holy Day of Obligation and chooses to
miss Mass anyway. The person thinks it is a Holy Day (certain subjec-