How Moral Judgement Is Formed
Introduction
Modern culture often equates conscience with personal preference.
“I must follow my conscience” is frequently understood to mean:
“I must follow my feelings.”
At the same time, moral teaching is sometimes perceived as external control imposed by authority.
The Catholic tradition rejects both errors.
Conscience is neither arbitrary feeling nor blind rule-following.
It is the judgement of reason concerning moral truth.
Understanding conscience correctly is essential for moral maturity.
1. What Freedom Is
Freedom is not the ability to do anything whatsoever.
It is the capacity to choose what is truly good.
Freedom detached from truth becomes destructive.
A person is free to ignore reality, but not free from its consequences.
The Church teaches that freedom is ordered toward the good.
It reaches fulfilment not in unlimited choice, but in right choice.
Without truth, freedom collapses into preference.
Without freedom, moral responsibility disappears.
The two belong together.
2. What Conscience Is
Conscience is the interior judgement by which a person recognises the moral quality of an action.
It does not invent moral law.
It applies moral law.
Just as the intellect recognises truth in mathematics, conscience recognises moral truth in action.
This means conscience must be formed.
It can be:
Well-formed and clear.
Poorly formed and confused.
Sincerity alone does not guarantee correctness.
A person may sincerely believe something wrong is right.
The sincerity does not transform error into truth.
Conscience must be educated.
3. Formation of Conscience
Conscience is formed through:
Prayer.
Study of Scripture.
Engagement with Church teaching.
Examination of one’s life.
The Church’s moral teaching assists conscience.
It does not replace it.
Authority and conscience are not rivals.
If Christ entrusted teaching authority to the Church, then her guidance forms conscience rather than suppresses it.
Rejecting authoritative teaching without serious reflection weakens moral clarity.
Moral autonomy without grounding produces instability.
4. Relativism and Emotionalism
Relativism treats moral judgement as subjective.
Emotionalism treats feeling as decisive.
But moral truth is not created by intensity of feeling.
Feelings are morally relevant — they can indicate attraction, fear, or resistance.
But they are not final arbiters of truth.
An adult conscience must be capable of distinguishing:
What I feel
from
What is objectively right.
The refusal to make moral judgement in the name of tolerance erodes responsibility.
Charity does not eliminate moral clarity.
5. Responsibility and Accountability
Because conscience involves judgement, it also involves accountability.
Actions chosen knowingly and freely shape character.
Repeated choices form habits.
Habits shape destiny.
The Church teaches that grave sin — freely chosen — separates the soul from God.
This seriousness reflects the dignity of freedom.
God does not force love.
Human beings are capable of rejecting it.
Conscience therefore carries weight.
It is not decorative.
It directs life.
6. Avoiding Two Extremes
There are two distortions to avoid:
Legalism — treating moral life as mechanical rule compliance.
Subjectivism — treating moral life as personal invention.
The Catholic path is neither.
It is rational, relational, and rooted in truth.
Conscience does not operate in isolation.
It operates within reality.
The mature Catholic seeks alignment between interior judgement and objective moral truth.
Conclusion
Freedom is a gift.
Conscience is a guide.
Both require formation.
Without truth, conscience drifts.
Without conscience, freedom collapses into impulse.
The Church’s moral teaching does not restrict freedom.
It protects it.
It guides the person toward authentic flourishing.
Moral maturity is not found in autonomy detached from authority.
It is found in responsibility aligned with truth.
Reflection Questions
Do I equate conscience with personal feeling?
Have I seriously engaged with Church teaching in forming my moral judgement?
Do I treat moral clarity as harshness rather than responsibility?
Closing Prayer
Lord,
You have given me freedom and reason.
Form my conscience in truth.
Guard me from error and pride.
Strengthen my resolve to choose what is good
and live with integrity.
Amen.
St. Mary's, St. John Bosco and St. Edward's 