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By: Julie Maria
It is impossible to fail to note that man has a ‘law’ which ‘he does not give to himself, but is received 1. ’ This law, which is engraved on his heart, has its source in God 2. From theology one understands that from the wounds of original sin it became difficult to see the relation between the Creator as such and the creature as such. Disobedience in “eating of the fruit of good and evil” put the creature in some manner in opposition to its Creator, desiring to decide for himself the criterion to discern good and evil.
The docility asked of the disciple of Jesus, as Grabowski 3 clearly explains, shows that the new law, although interior (summarized in the Sermon on the Mount) is more demanding than the first (the Decalogue). It is more demanding because it supposes the grace of faith, hope, and love to live it. In a word, it demands a communion with the Person of Jesus Christ and with the Church He founded: “In order to make this "encounter" with Christ possible, God willed his Church. Indeed, the Church "wishes to serve this single end: that each person may be able to find Christ, in order that Christ may walk with each person the path of life 4".
When one treats of the relation between personal conscience and the law (old/new 5), one tends to see that the Magisterium proposes moral norms which are very ‘practical’, and must be left to each individual conscience to decide (presuming that it is well-formed).
As the document Gaudium et Spes said: “in forming their consciences the Christian faithful must give careful attention to the sacred and certain teaching of the Church. For the Catholic Church is by the will of Christ the teacher of truth 6.” Therefore to follow their conscience would be to follow the teachings of the Church. Said another way, if it is true that “each individual has a right to be respected in his own journey in search of the truth, there exists a prior moral obligation, and a grave one at that, to seek the truth and to adhere to it once it is known 7”. For Catholics this Truth is fully revealed in the Church, which has Christ for its head and Peter as its Vicar.
Nevertheless, time and again there exist attempts of diverse currents of thought which which to annul the ‘intrinsic and constitutive relation’ which exists between Truth (which is God himself and his Will for man in this case) and personal liberty. This is the root of the problem of the many errors that occur even ‘within the Christian community’ according to Pope John Paul II 8.
The question which one can make is this: if man receives the ‘law’ of Someone then he cannot, and never will be able to be the source of morality of his own acts. It is God as the Creator and Father who without tiring, time and again, calls him to his Covenant, so that only by the ‘obedience of faith’ man also reaches a moral maturity. This implies a recognition that there does not exist a contradiction between the law which ‘one hears in the heart’ and one’s happiness, but that there exists a profound contradiction between the law and license. It is of this that Saint Paul, when speaking of liberty, alerts the community, so that it is not used as a motive to sin (Gal 5:13) and of the perennial necessity of metanoia.
But the reality is that it is never easy to see – and to live – the truth desired by the Father. Here we recall the wise words of Pope John XXIII: “all the evils which poison men and nations and trouble so many hearts have a single cause and a single source: ignorance of the truth—and at times even more than ignorance, a contempt for truth and a reckless rejection of it 9.” Here we find an echo of the words the Second Vatican Council will use to speak of the erroneous conscience: it is not justified if it “ cares little for the truth or goodness” because here the responsibility is personal.
The certainty that the law is given by God to each man, and that “no darkness of error or sin can totally take away from man the light of God the Creator 10” gives the Church the hope that it will always find a space in the human heart for the proclamation of the Gospel. This natural law has its source in the Eternal Law: “reason draws its own truth and authority from the eternal law, which is none other than divine wisdom itself 11”.
Therefore the Church as Teacher provides the necessary light for moral acting. It does that by giving a foundation so that its sons can form their consciences well. It will never be too much to reaffirm that today Christ chooses to speak through the Church. Saint Cyprian assimilated this point so well, and lived the intimate relation between Christ and his Church to such a degree that he could affirm “no one can have God for a Father, without also having the Church as Mother.”
In conclusion it is worthwhile to record the words of Pope John Paul on the role fulfilled by the Pope and the Magisterium, comparing the life of Christ with that of His Church: “for all the bishops and pastors of the Church, and especially for the Successor of Peter, Jesus' words are valid: "No disciple is above his teacher" (Mt 10:24; Lk 6:40). Jesus himself exercised his Magisterium amid the struggle between darkness and light, which was the context for the Incarnation of the Word (cf. Jn 1:1-14). That struggle was intense during the apostolic period, as the Master had warned: "If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you" (Jn 15:20). Unfortunately, it took place too in some Christian communities, so much so that St. Paul felt it necessary to urge Timothy, his disciple: "Proclaim the Word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching...[even] when people will not tolerate sound doctrine 12".
1 Cf. Gaudium et Spes, N. 16
2 John Paul II, Veritatis Splendor, N. 45
3 J. Grabowski, Sex and Virtue p. 60
4 John Paul II, Veritatis Splendor, N. 7
5 Cf. John Paul II, Veritatis Splendor, N. 45: “Between the "old" and the "new" law, it must not be forgotten that these and other useful distinctions always refer to that law whose author is the one and the same God and which is always meant for man.”
6 Cf. Ibid N. 64
7 Ibid. N. 34
8 Ibid. N.4
9 John XXIII, Encyclical Ad Petrin Cathedram, N. 6
10 Jonh Paul II, Veritatis Splendor, N. 1
11 Veritatis Splendor, N. 40
12 John Paul II General Audience, March 10, 1993
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