THEOLOGY 13 Unit 1 Exam Reviewer

Anatoly Angelo R. Aseneta

Module 1 → To name someone meant

responsibility
A Theology of Marriage
→ God and humans are partners
3 levels of vocation in co-creation
3. Call to covenant
➔ Proposed by Latin American Bishops
• To the people of Israel as the
mediators
1. Human vocation
• An agreement, promise, relationship
• Find fulfilment as human beings
through the Ten Commandments
→ Pagpapakatao
→ Decalogue; terms and
2. Christian Vocation
conditions of God
• to become active members of the
→ “Israel is peaceful, who might
community
their god be?--> recruit”
• to bear witness to the Kingdom of
→ When Israel misbehaves, God
God
sends them prophets to
→ Pagpapaka-Kristiyano
remind them of their vocation
3. Specific vocation
 They were silenced
• Will enable us to make our specific
→ God then sent out His Son:
contribution to the construction of the
Jesus
Kingdom
→ “How can I contribute as a person New Testament Motifs
and as a Christian?”
NOTE: Jesus ≠ Israel. Jesus is now called to call
Etymology of Vocation humanity not only Israel.

→ Usually tied to priesthood/nunhood - The focal point is now Jesus Christ not Israel
- Jesus Christ as the perfect redeemer; the
“Vocare”
mediator
→ can mean:
1. to call Main point before 3
2. to invite 1. “kalein”
3. to designate • Originally meant “to call, name,
• depends on the response invite”
→ Ultimately meant the three
Old Testament Motifs
Old Testament motifs
1. Call to existence • Became the task of Jesus, not Israel
• To become a full person → Both being God’s son
→ Associated with the  Matthew→ Jesus
conception of Adam  Hosea→ Israel
2. Call to be co-creators and partners 2. “kalon”
• Fulfilled when humans are tasked to • The one who invites a response
name the creation • Jesus Christ
→ To partake in the on-going → the call: the Word Incarnate
creation (Verbum Incarnatum)

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THEOLOGY 13 Unit 1 Exam Reviewer
Anatoly Angelo R. Aseneta

 calls for humanity to • Call to integrated human

go back to God development
3. “kalloumenoi” • Everything in our lives can become a
• Individual: Those who are called way of responding to the Lord
through the sacrament of baptism 2. Strict sense
• Ekklesia or the commuity: the • Relational
church or assembly of those being • Call to missionary service to others→
called Theo 12
4. “kleisis” • Call to love→Theo 13
• Nation of Jesus calling back to Gof • Work and our abilities to society and
→ Refer to the three call of Old common good-DLQ
Testament
Vocation could be…
Vocation as a call-response model
1. Marriage and family life
-Look back at all calling→there is no mention of 2. Being single
priesthood. • Choice or circumstance
3. Special consecration
• Active personal response to a general call
• Priesthood or nunhood
• More dialogical
4. Work
→ Not imposed, but communical
• NOT all work!
• More communitarian and egalitarian
• Go back to the senses
→ Go back to ekklesia
• E.g. gunmen for hire is not a vocation
• More dynamic
as it kills, not in service for others
→ Not only one
→ Not fixed Gaudete et Exsultate
→ Not static
- Apostolic exhortation on the Call to Holiness
→ “Specific, yes. Special, no”
in Today’s World
Being a priest is not a special way of calling→ the
Remember: Holiness ≠ piety and renunciation
problem of Clericalism
- That was the old meaning of holiness
Vocation according to Francis
according to the church
Christus Vivit (Christ is alive!) • Holiness is a task of everyone, not only by the
men of church
- 2019 Post synodal Apostolic Exhortation on
• Vocation to grow and mature for the glory of God
Young People, Faith, and Vocational
• All the faithful, whatever condition or state are
Discernment
called to perfect holiness
- In this document he states that, vocation
• Shares a meaning with justice
has:
→ Means righteous
→ To give what is due
1. Broad sense
→ To treat each other with dignity
• Personal
• Synonymous to Justus
• Calling from God
→ Means bearing witness in all we do #14
• Call to life, to friendship with God, to
→ Process of many small gestures
holiness→Theo 11
→ Charity; love for others
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THEOLOGY 13 Unit 1 Exam Reviewer
Anatoly Angelo R. Aseneta

Excursus: A Theology of Work

Christus Vivit

• Work is a necessity, a path to growth, human

development, and personal fulfilment
• Constant stimulus to grow in responsibility and
creativity

Catholic Social Theology

• Gives importance to work

• Work: the clearest expressions of being co-
creators
• Resources→ God’s gift
→ Work is the transformation of creation
 It is then our responsibility of use
• Work is for the human person; and not the human
person for work.
• Summary: A Call to Integral Human Development
→ Popularum Progressio
 Not restricted to economic growth alone
 Must be well-rounded→ each person is
social

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THEOLOGY 13 Unit 1 Exam Reviewer
Anatoly Angelo R. Aseneta

Readings notes: • Christians are called to evangelize

and bear fruit, relying on God’s
1. • Holiness as Union with Christ (21-22): grace to overcome weakness.
• Holiness is "charity lived to the full" • The ultimate tragedy is failing to
and is measured by how much Christ pursue holiness and God’s plan for
is present in one’s life. one’s life.
• Saints are messages from God, but
their lives should be viewed in Addendum on piety and renunciation
totality, rather than focusing on their 1. Holiness as Piety:
imperfections.
• Devotion to God: Piety involves a
2. Personal Mission and Holiness (23-24):
deep reverence and love for God,
• Each life is a unique mission, expressed through prayer, worship,
discerned through prayer and
and adherence to divine
openness to the Holy Spirit. commandments.
• Transformation through God’s grace
• Spiritual Practices: Acts such as
allows believers to fulfill their mission fasting, meditation, and sacramental
despite failures. participation are seen as ways to
3. Activity as a Path to Sanctity (25-27): cultivate closeness to God and grow
• Holiness requires active engagement in holiness.
in building God’s kingdom of love, • Compassion and Virtue: A pious
justice, and peace.
person embodies virtues like
• Action and contemplation are humility, kindness, and selflessness,
integrated; neither can be neglected reflecting God’s love through their
for the other. actions.
4. • Distractions and Inner Renewal (28-30): 2. Holiness as Renunciation:
• Superficial distractions, • Detachment from the World:
consumerism, and noise hinder Renunciation involves letting go of
spiritual growth and mission. material desires, selfish ambitions,
• Quiet moments of prayer and self- and attachments that distract from
reflection are essential for renewal spiritual focus.
and a meaningful relationship with • Self-Sacrifice: This can mean
God. embracing a simpler life, foregoing
5. • Holiness in All Aspects of Life (31): comforts, or dedicating oneself
• A spirit of holiness must permeate entirely to service or prayer.
personal life, service, and • Focus on the Eternal: By renouncing
evangelization, making every transient pleasures, individuals direct
moment an expression of self- their attention toward eternal truths
sacrificing love. and the pursuit of union with God.
6. • Holiness as Human Fulfillment (32-34):
• Holiness aligns with becoming fully God’s Call to Humankind: Towards a Theology of
human, freeing individuals to live Vocation.
with dignity and purpose.
Introduction

• Key Idea: Each individual is a conduit of

God’s call to creation and must respond to it.
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THEOLOGY 13 Unit 1 Exam Reviewer
Anatoly Angelo R. Aseneta

• Problem: Modern understanding of vocation o Christ represents God’s call in a new

needs theological enrichment. covenant, inviting humanity back to
their original vocation.
• Objective: Lay a foundation for a deeper
theological understanding of vocation by • Jesus’ Mission:
exploring its etymology, scriptural roots, and
o Jesus calls humanity to repentance
contemporary significance.
and reconciliation with God.

o Through baptism, Christians join the

Etymology of Vocation Church (ekklesia) as those who are
called (kalloumenoi).
• Origin: Derived from the Latin vocare (to
call), encompassing summoning, invoking, • Christian Vocation:
inviting, and naming.
o Baptism integrates individuals into
• Connotation: The act of naming is tied to the Christ’s mission to proclaim the Good
act of creation, giving something its mode of News.
existence.
o Vocation entails co-creation,
covenant fidelity, and living as part of
the Church.
The Old Testament Motif

• Themes:
Modern Understanding of Vocation
o Vocation begins with God’s call in
creation (e.g., Genesis: naming of • Challenges:
animals symbolizes co-creation).
o Narrow focus on vocation as
o Covenant: God's call to humankind to exclusive to priesthood or religious
partner with Him in creation. life.

o Examples: Covenants with Noah, o Overlooks the broader baptismal

Abraham, and Moses clarify the commitment shared by all Christians.
relationship between God and
• Insights:
humanity.
o Priesthood and religious life are
• Insight: Vocation in the Old Testament
specific, not superior, forms of
involves being creatures, co-creators, and
vocation.
covenant partners with God.
o All vocations stem from the general
call to live out baptismal
The New Testament commitments.

• Development:

o Greek kalein (to call) expands on Old A Broader Theological Perspective

Testament notions.
• Call-Response Dynamic:

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THEOLOGY 13 Unit 1 Exam Reviewer
Anatoly Angelo R. Aseneta

o Vocation is not pre-determined but

shaped by personal response to
God’s general call.

o Emphasizes human agency and

creativity in discerning one’s path.

• Ecclesiology:

o Vatican II’s inclusive ecclesiology

highlights that all people are called to
unity in Christ.

o Ministry is a shared activity involving

every Christian.

Implications for Ministry

• Broader View: Ministry extends beyond

ordained roles to all baptized individuals.

• Vocation as Universal:

o Every person’s life reflects God’s call,

with responses shaped by their
personal and historical context.

o Specific vocations (e.g., marriage,

priesthood) are responses to God’s
universal call.

Conclusion

• Call to Action:

o Vocation reflects humanity’s role as

co-creators with God and covenant
partners.

o A richer theology of vocation fosters

understanding of human purpose
within God’s call.

• Final Insight: Each individual and generation

is responsible for echoing and embodying
God’s call to the world.

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THEOLOGY 13 Unit 1 Exam Reviewer
Anatoly Angelo R. Aseneta

Module 2 • Morality has relative autonomy (not

absolute) from religion but is interconnected
Moral Theology
• God is the source of moral capacity, not the
Astorga’s Catholic Moral Theology and Social enforcer
Ethics • Morality is grounded in human nature and
reflective capacity for free moral acts
Background:
• Faith reorients one’s values and aspiration, to
• Philosophical ethics transcend self-interest and enhance greater
→ Focuses on righteousness or wrongness of values like sharing and altruism.
actions→ secular ethics • Religious faith complements reason→
• Christian ethics expand moral values + transcendental values
→ Gets things from philosophy and divine o To become more
revelation • Morality in religion is the love for God
→ Propium: sources beyond human reason o Transcendent achieves fulfillment,
→ Uses: reason + scripture and faith peace, and joy
 Has other different forms depending on • Faith brings depth, intensity, and urgency
religion to morality by situating it to the person’s
fundamental response to God’s call.
Catholic moral theology
Where does morality come from?
- Includes systematic presentation of the
development of Catholic Moral Theology → Must be righteous
- Includes magisterium→ Catholic church → Somewhat inherent to humans
teachings → Humans are capable of doing good or bad→
- Studies the implications of the Catholic faith moral
for the kinds of actions that we do and the  Capable of perceiving and expressing the
types of persons we become call
 One must do good and avoid evil
Astorga reading notes:
→ Religion does add something to become
• Moral vision involves deeply understanding moral
oneself, including personal beliefs, values,  Brings depth, intensity and urgency
and convictions  Stretches the horizons of meaning, to
o Shaped by culture, religion, traditions, seek more and become more
and one’s relationship with God  Not an abstract call→ to recognize
influencing decisions, and actions who is calling
• Moral understanding is intertwined with the  Human vocation + God→ Christian
experience of being human and divine vocation
• Morality can exist independently of religion,
Catholic Moral Theology’s 2 types of morality
as evidenced by moral individuals who are
atheists or non-believers. Decalogue being 1. Objective morality
attached to a divine being • Focuses on actions
• In morality, moral acts must be free and not • Natural Law
coerced by external authority, emphasizing → Measurement of how the
personal freedom. action is good or bad
2. Subjective morality
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THEOLOGY 13 Unit 1 Exam Reviewer
Anatoly Angelo R. Aseneta

• Focuses on actor or person “What I ought to do”→ “What is natural?”

• Judged by the human act
→ Refers to basic human inclinations
→ With intent, deliberate choice
• Opposing these makes an act unnatural
- Sources if moral forms: scripture (written),
1. Human preservation→ Primary precepts of
tradition (oral to written), natural law, human
natural law
experience, magisterium
• Preservation of life itself
Natural Law • Reproduce as species
• Sociability
Premises:
• Knowledge
1. Ontological 2. Human flourishment
• There is inherent right or wrong in • Eudaimonia
reality • Achieve human growth or full
• Inherent in human nature and development of human potential
structure of reality→ given by God • Aquinas: life, knowledge, friendship,
and nature aesthetic experience, and religion
• Concerned with natural reality, being, contribute to flourishing
and existence
Natural: a meaning
• There was structure and order
• E.g. → Has sense of universality
→ Humans naturally seek the → Does not require supernatural revelation
good because it is ingrained → Is not imposed, but given
in their being.
Christian adaptation
2. Epistemological
• Philosophy of knowledge • Thomas Aquinas adapted philosophy to theology
• Uses reason and conscience to from Aristotle
determine natural order • Natural Law as participation in God’s Eternal Law
• Refers to how humans come to know ≠ divinely imposed
and understand natural law. • Natural Law is rational direction→ human good
• Assumes that humans have reason and flourishing
and conscience to discern moral • Human finitude→ no one’s perfect- which is our
truths. limitation
• E.g. → Divine revelation is not a necessity to faith
→ Through reason, we
recognize that killing the
innocent is wrong because it
violates the natural order.

Various Natural Law Traditions

- Thomistic tradition
- Non-Christian origin
o Greek stoics
▪ Discerned what is wrong or
right reasonably

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THEOLOGY 13 Unit 1 Exam Reviewer
Anatoly Angelo R. Aseneta

Eternal Law not depend on human existence

-God's governance-->
how God manages the
to be valid
world
• Springboards for dialogue with other cultures,
religious beliefs, and people
Divine Law
Natural Law • Recognizes the complexity of moral life
-refers to the stuff
revealed by God,
- our participation to
divine law
→ There are some customs that are bad (+) (-)
necessary for salvation
-helping God do God's
governance 2 possible nuances on Natural Law

Human Law Ecclesiastical Law 1. Universalist

-literal state/national
laws
-pertaining to church's
laws
• Will not allow variations
• True across all cultures
2. Pluralist
• One minimum standard but could
have variations

2 paradigms in tension:
Significance of Natural Law
Challenge: balancing act→ individual practice of
• It rejects moral relativism prudence and wisdom
→ Moral relativism: we are our own legislators,
executors, judges -to pursue eudaimonia- happiness
 orals are subjective; right and wrong
depend on culture, society, or individual
beliefs.
• Supports moral realism
→ Moral realism: Morals are objective; right
and wrong exist independently of human
opinion (e.g., natural law theory).
 Natural Law supports this as truths are
discovered, not created
 align with human nature and rationality
 NOTE: Moral truths exist independently
of human perception.
 Morals and natural law can exist
without human existence and…
(a) grounded in divine reason and
would exist even if there were no
humans to recognize it
(b) It is part of the created order, not
dependent on human perception
(c) universal truths that do not rely on
human existence but are instead
discovered by humans.
(d) while natural law needs humans
to recognize and apply it, it does

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THEOLOGY 13 Unit 1 Exam Reviewer
Anatoly Angelo R. Aseneta

Readings Notes: human flourishing rather than rigid

principles.
Cochran- Natural Law
2. Natural Law in Protestant Thought
Core Concept of Natural Law
o Protestant skepticism stems from:
Natural law asserts that human beings are
universally obligated to adhere to moral norms, ▪ Potential conflict with divine
particularly justice. Cicero defines it as divine, sovereignty (if even God is
universal, and eternal, discernible by human reason. bound by natural law).
This principle supports moral realism, affirming ▪ Tension with Christ-centered
objective goodness and truth, and serves as a morality, which sees Jesus
foundation for civil rights advocacy, as seen in Martin
as the ultimate moral
Luther King Jr.’s use of Aquinas to challenge unjust
authority.
laws.
▪ Original sin, which
Natural Law and Human Flourishing
challenges human ability to
Natural law integrates with virtue ethics, particularly discern moral truth naturally.
in Aristotle and Aquinas, linking moral laws with o However, Bonhoeffer presents a
human purposes. Unlike divine-command theory, Protestant version of natural law
which focuses solely on God’s will, natural law grounded in redemption rather than
includes emotional and rational dimensions in moral creation, allowing moral norms to
discernment. arise from Christ’s restoration of the
Debates in Natural Law Theory world.

1. Moral Realism vs. Cultural Diversity o Modern Protestant scholars

(VanDrunen, Herdt, Charles) are
o Critics argue that enforcing natural revisiting natural law, seeing it as a
law risks Western moral bridge for ecumenical dialogue
imperialism. between Protestants and Catholics
o Martha Nussbaum highlights this in and as a means to engage public
discussing female genital moral discourse.
mutilation—she acknowledges Conclusion
cultural context but ultimately
condemns the practice based on Natural law remains relevant in Christian ethics,
universal justice. providing a universal moral framework while
accommodating theological diversity. Its challenge
o Catholic thinkers like John Paul II (in lies in balancing universal moral norms with
Veritatis Splendor) and the New cultural and theological particularities, ensuring it
Natural Law theorists (Grisez, remains a tool for justice without moral absolutism.
Finnis, George) argue for absolute
moral norms, such as rejecting
"intrinsically evil acts."

o Others, like Jean Porter, advocate a

flexible interpretation, emphasizing

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THEOLOGY 13 Unit 1 Exam Reviewer
Anatoly Angelo R. Aseneta

Subjective Morality • Evaluative or heart knowledge

→ What a person values and is
1. Human acts
compelled to act upon
• Personal acts
→ I value it
• has a level of control or ownership of
→ I know, I know why, I
action
appreciate the reason
• there is a moral responsibility
→ For Christians: this is moral
→ may pananagutan
responsibility
• “entail freedom and knowledge on
4. Moral responsibility and culpability
the part of the moral agent”
• Human act assumes varying degrees
2. Acts of human person
of head and heart knowledge
• Impersonal acts
• Moral culpability is proportionate to
• Acts about by human person
the presence of heart knowledge
• Diminished or removed moral
• Heart knowledge reflects moral
responsibility and culpability
agent’s personal investment in good
• Spontaneous biological process,
or evil outcomes of their actions.
forced actions
• Could be considered as human Freedom
action if there’s knowledge and
• The power rooted in reason and will, to act or not
freedom
to act, to do this or that so to perform deliberate
Knowledge actions on one’s own responsibility
• Unlike some animals and plants, who respond to
1. Knowledge as a requirement for a human act
stimuli based on their genes, humans exercise
• Essential for actions to be considered
freedom and deliberation
moral
→ Allowed to shape our own lives through
• Must be aware of
responsible choices
rightness/wrongness of an action to
be done and brings this to action Freedom from vs Freedom for
2. Knowledge in moral judgement
1. Freedom from
• Can be present or absent when a
• Popular Western culture that
person performs an action
emphasizes freedom as the absence
• When present, moral consciousness
of constraints
accompany it
• Doing one that pleases the law
• Distinction between knowledge and
• To choose one over the other→not
ignorance determines whether an
necessarily to direct life
action is judged right or wrong
2. Freedom for
3. Conceptual vs. evaluative knowledge
• Not only free from restrictions, but I
• Conceptual or head
have the power to direct life to
→ Information a person
something→ vocation
possesses about moral
• Freedom directs individuals toward
teachings
growth, maturity, and ultimately union
→ I know it
with God
→ Enough for moral
responsibility

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THEOLOGY 13 Unit 1 Exam Reviewer
Anatoly Angelo R. Aseneta

• True freedom seeks to promote right → Small faults matter because they shape the
relationships with God, offers oneself habits and inclinations that define our
and creation fundamental option over time.
→ One act-> habit -> virtue-> character
→ we still need FoC to recognize the
Purpose of Freedom cumulative effect of seemingly minor
moral decisions. This prevents us from
➔ Gift from God to help individuals shape their
rationalizing small faults as harmless when
lives and love and reach fullness in union in
they can reinforce bad habits and attitudes
God
• We need freedom from as the minimum to
o Basic option→ towards God with
become morally responsible
perfection
➔ On authentic Human good and Moral Summary:
Responsibility
• Adequate exercise of freedom and knowledge
o Is morally good when choices align
is necessary
with authentic human good toward
• Inadequate exercise of freedom and knowledge
God
(through factors that truly and severely
Fundamental Option Theory compromise either) may diminish or remove
moral responsibility
• A theological theory encompassing Christian
• Moral ≠ legal responsibility
ethics and Catholic Moral Theology
• A free response in the moral life is rarely a
→ Basic Principle: when human person is
simple process
incarnate, they are configured towards God
• How we choose or what we long for and how
→ Fundamental stance/basic option: towards
emotions affect our responding to be a full
God
Christian
1. Freedom of choice
• not all actions are capable of changing
our basic option
Theology of Sin
• small faults
2. Freedom of self-determination • Sin in the Catholic moral theological tradition
• The capacity to shape oneself • Distinction between grave (mortal) sins and
through moral choices venial sins
• Actions that are capable of changing
Etymology of sin
our basic option
• We have the capacity to turn away • “Sunder” (German) = “to break from another)
from God. • Hebrew words used in Sacred Scriptures
• Hatta: missing the mark
Note: Weakness of FOT
• Awon: deviating off-track
• FOT emphasizes that our core moral stance • Pesha: breaking of a covenant, a revolt (Jer. 33:8)
(fundamental option) isn’t necessarily changed
Common denominators?
by every individual choice
→ this can lead to overlooking smaller, Sin as the failure to bother to love
everyday choices—treating them as minor or
insignificant because they don’t seem to shift
our fundamental direction.
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THEOLOGY 13 Unit 1 Exam Reviewer
Anatoly Angelo R. Aseneta

• For James F. Keenan, SJ: “to fail to strive out of • Synderesis

love is to sin” or “sin is simply not bothering to → Innate capacity to self-reflect
love” → General sense of value,
fundamental sense of
Why do we fail to bother to love? Why do we
responsibility
easily overlook the reality of sinning?
→ Connected to knowledge
Goodness—rightness and badness—wrongness 2. Discernment
• Determining the particular good to
Goodness
apply or evil to be avoided in the
• A person, who acting out of love, strives to live current situation/moral problem.
rightly. • Understanding universal norms then
• Asks whether we strive to answer Jesus’ call to applying them to specific cases
love God and neighbor. → Judgement must be in current
situations not universal.
Rightness

• A behavior that promotes value in the world.

• Asks whether our actions make the world a better 3. Judgment
place • Specific judgment of GOOD which “I
must do” in this particular situation
• Referred to as the sanctuary
Conscience • Obligation to “follow”
• Not so much about the choice but
• Holds us to obedience
more about being this or that kind of
• Speaks to our heart
person through one’s choice
→ in his heart a law written by God
• Obeying it is the very dignity of man
• Core and Sanctuary where he is alone with God
4. Self-evaluation
• Christians are joined with the rest of humanity
• Praises or blames what one has
→ Conscience is Relational
already done.
• Sanctuary
• Must be done in the spirit of integrity
→ Place of refuge
and desire to learn from the moral
→ Holy/Sacred
experience.
→ Inviolable - None can enter w/o permission
• Place for personal encounter with God AND a Self-Evaluation -> Synderesis
response to what one believes to be God’s voice
• Improve capacity of conscience to what
and Command
you’ve learned
• Manifests during a moral dilemma

1. Habitual Conscience
Four Moments (Senses of Conscience)
• A stable moral disposition formed
1. “Synderesis” (vs. “syneidesis”)
through repeated moral reasoning
• Syneidesis
and virtuous actions.
→ Basic capacity to desire and
know the good
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THEOLOGY 13 Unit 1 Exam Reviewer
Anatoly Angelo R. Aseneta

• It aligns with synderesis, the innate o Experience (self-reflection might

tendency to recognize good and evil. trigger a new cycle).
▪ ALWAYS a need as new
• Example: A person who has
experiences adds to our
consistently practiced honesty does
conscience
not need to deliberate before telling
the truth—it has become second FORMATION OF CONSCIENCE
nature.
• Obligation to follow one’s conscience,
2. Actual Conscience presupposes that conscience has properly
formed
• The conscience actively engaged in
o Formed conscience as relational
making a moral judgment in a specific
• Formation is a lifelong task of conversion
situation.
o Acquiring perspectives
• It involves discernment and o Acquiring Analytical tools
judgment, considering moral • If conscience is not formed well, obligation to
principles, context, and follow is not necessary
consequences.

The cycle:
Note: The judgment of conscience is made for
oneself but not by oneself alone.

PRIMACY OF CONSCIENCE

• No one is forced to act in a manner contrary

to his conscience
• Better to die in excommunication that to go
against one’s conscience
o Beyond the claim of external social
groups, even the official Church
• On community and self-conscience: As
we’re part of a religious community, we can
use this to deepen our moral discernment
while still upholding the primacy of
conscience, ensuring that our personal
Note: This is the ideal process, BUT it could be
convictions are informed by communal
rearranged depending on the situation and on how it
wisdom rather than dictated by it.
is looked at.
• Avoids: blind obedience and rebellion
• The conscience cycle is dynamic, not rigid.
Note: if a friend says to you that they’re conscience
Its steps can shift depending on:
tells them to do something bad, YOU should
o Urgency (immediate moral actions
intervene. DO NOT let others’ conscience topple
might skip discernment).
your own.
o Moral habit (virtuous people act
instinctively without deep
deliberation).
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THEOLOGY 13 Unit 1 Exam Reviewer
Anatoly Angelo R. Aseneta

The Erroneous Conscience • “… we can never simply presume from right

or wrong activity that one is good or bad,
• Moral conscience can remain in ignorance
loving or not….”
and makes erroneous judgements

Errors due to:

Different kinds of Conscience
1. Vincible Ignorance
• Imputed to personal responsibility 1. Certain
• When we take little trouble to find out • Acting in good faith
what is true and good • Makes proper discernment, properly
→ Where conscience is almost formed
blinded by habitual sin • Reaches a level of certainty,
• Culpable • Does not guarantee correctness
• Imputed to moral responsibility for • Sure conscience
evil one commits • Could be certain in good faith but still
2. Invincible Ignorance erroneous
• Not culpable but still wrong 2. Doubtful
• The actor is limited • Confused or perplex about moral
• Sincere effort to form one’s dilemma
conscience • Does not have obligatory force to
• should be held accountable follow
(legal/social consequences) • A need to continually form and inform
until reaches sureness
Cure: Sincere effort to form one’s conscience
3. Correct
A morally mature conscience • Makes proper choice
4. Erroneous
• Developing the whole person
• Wrong choices
• Possessing and integrating adequate moral
5. Scrupulous
insights about good and evil, theories, norms,
• Fear of committing mistakes
etc.
→ Frozen by fear
• Possessing and integrating moral passions
 does nothing
• Possessing and integrating moral skills
→ Safeway out; rigid
• Signs:
 just follows what the
→ NOT blinding obedience but critical
law says as a
acceptance to religious teaching
scapegoat
→ NOT blinding rebellion to religious teaching
6. Lax
• Not bothering to love
• Finds easy way out
God judges us on the basis not of our judgment
• Not bothered with right or wrong
being objectively right or wrong, but of the
• Apathetic
sincerity of our hearts in seeking to judge rightly
(even if we make a mistake in judgment) and of Combinations
our determination to do as we judge.
1. Good

Prepared by: E.C. Dyzon

THEOLOGY 13 Unit 1 Exam Reviewer
Anatoly Angelo R. Aseneta

• Certain + Correct → Well-formed → Someone is unsure but makes

Moral Confidence the wrong decision due to
→ A person discerns properly, lack of effort in discernment.
reaches certainty, and makes → Example: A student, unsure
the right choice. about cheating, justifies it
→ Example: A doctor, fully because “everyone does it.”
informed about medical • Scrupulous + Doubtful → Moral
ethics, confidently refuses to Paralysis
participate in euthanasia. → A person is so afraid of
• Doubtful + Correct → Humble making a mistake that they
Moral Growth avoid decision-making
→ Someone struggles with a altogether.
moral dilemma but continues → Example: A person agonizes
seeking truth until they arrive over whether helping a
at the right decision. beggar is “truly good” and
→ Example: A person unsure ends up doing nothing.
about voting ethics • Lax + Erroneous → Moral Apathy
researches thoroughly and → Someone makes wrong
votes according to well- choices because they don’t
formed conscience. care about morality at all.
• Certain + Erroneous (in Good Faith) → Example: A corrupt
→ Redeemable Mistake businessman rationalizes
→ A person acts wrongly but fraud, believing that
with sincere conviction and "everyone is doing it anyway."
proper discernment (just 3. WORST
misinformed). • Certain + Erroneous + Lax →
→ Example: A missionary Deliberate Moral Corruption
imposes strict religious rules, → A person is fully convinced
believing it’s for the good, but they are right, their judgment
later realizes it alienates is flawed, and they refuse to
people. correct themselves.
2. Bad → Example: A scammer who
• Certain + Erroneous (Rigid or cheats people, believes they
Misguided) → Blind Moral are just “smarter” than others,
Confidence and feels no guilt.
→ A person is sure of their moral
How do we deal w/ erroneous conscience?
stance but is actually wrong.
→ Example: A dictator believes A moral conscience can remain in ignorance &
they are morally justified in makes erroneous judgments about acts to be done
silencing dissent for “national or already committed
unity.”
• Doubtful + Erroneous → Moral
Confusion

Prepared by: E.C. Dyzon