THE ROLE OF CONSCIENCE

IS IT ALWAYS TO FOLLOW THE HIERARCHICAL MAGISTERIAL TEACHINGS?

Authors

  • Vimal Tirimanna National Seminary of Our Lady of Lanka, Kandy, Sri Lanka

Keywords:

Catholic Moral Tradition, Dialogue, Formation of Conscience, Moral Truth, Objective Moral Norms, Personal Moral Responsibility, Vatican II

Abstract

Although the Vatican II assigned to a properly formed conscience of a person, the full dignity it deserves (as so consistently taught in the Catholic moral tradition), during the past few decades, there is a growing tendency within the Catholic fold to uphold the naïve, but erroneous view that conscience has to always simply and blindly follow what the hierarchical magisterium teaches. This essay is an effort to dispel such erroneous opinions, using the Catholic moral tradition and the official hierarchical teachings themselves. While recognizing the positive, indispensable role the hierarchical magisterium has to play in forming a believer’s conscience, the article highlights the need for both the conscience and the hierarchical magisterium to be in constant dialogue in their search for moral truth.

Author Biography

Vimal Tirimanna, National Seminary of Our Lady of Lanka, Kandy, Sri Lanka

Dr Vimal Tirimanna, CSsR, lectures in moral theology at the Pontifical Academia Alfonsiana, Rome, the Pontifical Collegio di San Beda, Rome, and at the National Seminary of Our Lady of Lanka, Kandy, Sri Lanka. From 1997 to 2012, he was the theologian-representative of the Sri Lankan bishops at the Office of Theological Concerns (OTC) of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), and from 2002 to 2012, he was the Executive Secretary of the same OTC. In 2010, the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity appointed him a member of the Catholic delegation to the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC). He has published many theological articles in local and international periodicals, and has edited and written a few books. He has also been invited to present papers in many international theological seminars and conferences, in all the five continents. Email: vimalred@gmail.com

References

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Published

2016-12-31

How to Cite

Tirimanna, V. (2016). THE ROLE OF CONSCIENCE: IS IT ALWAYS TO FOLLOW THE HIERARCHICAL MAGISTERIAL TEACHINGS?. Asian Horizons, 10(04), 668–683. Retrieved from https://dvkjournals.in/index.php/ah/article/view/2136