Primacy of conscience is a concept in Catholic moral theology that holds that one must obey one's conscience above all else, even the dictates of Catholic dogma, so long as that conscience is "well-formed". A "well-formed" conscience is one that has considered Catholic dogma deeply, seriously, and in good faith.https://lira.bc.edu/files/pdf?fileid=831de797-ef3e-411d-8dd7-8eb04b2181c5
The concept is cited in Cardinal Newman's . It found expression in papal teaching in Pope Paul VI's , part of the constitutions of Vatican II. It was also expanded upon in the Winnipeg Statement of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1968.
Then-Cardinal Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI summarised the concept in his Commentary on the Documents of Vatican II, published in 1968:
He went even further in 1969, stating that:
See also
Inward light
Further reading Richard Gula, 'Conscience,' in Bernard Hoose (ed.) Christian Ethics (London: Cassall, 1998), p. 114 L. Hogan, Confronting the Truth: Conscience in the Catholic Tradition (New York: Paulist, 2002) James Keenan, Commandments of Compassion (Franklin wt: Sheed and Ward, 1999), pp. 112 & 134 A. Patrick, Liberating Conscience: Feminist Explorations in Catholic Theology (New York: Continuum, 1996) Fr. Gregory Kalscheur, S.J., “Conscience and Citizenship: The Primacy of Conscience for Catholics in Public Life”, Journal of Catholic Social Thought, vol. 6, pp. 319–336 (2009).
References