The International Day of Conscience (5 April) is expansive in its aims. Many actions commended by its organisers involve going out to teach and to work with others and so to help build peace within communities and between nations. This emphasis might seem to differ widely from the way in which Catholics think of conscience. Many of us see it as the judge of whether what we have done or about to do is sinful. We speak of the voice of conscience. It speaks to us. Understandably in this perspective, debates within the Church about what we should do often turn on the way we should handle the relationship between what the Church tells us and what our conscience tells us.
These questions are important and emphasise how important it is to reflect on the rightness of what we do. They remind us of our dignity as human beings and of our call to grow as generous and responsible persons. The International Day of Conscience, however, emphasises something equally important: the importance of others and of our communities in encouraging us to live generous lives. God did not make us isolated individuals but as persons who depend on one another to learn how to live, to grow, to find and give love and to shape our world.
Our reflection on what is right and helps flourishing will become sharper and more sensitive both through personal reflection and through conversation with friends, including people who differ from us. Such conversation helps us to work through our differences peacefully and to come to a more complete understanding of how we should act. It will also raise more questions that invite our attention.
This practical and communal understanding of conscience has always been part of Christian thought and practice. It echoes the Ignatian emphasis on discernment and the formula of See, Judge and Act, developed by Cardinal Joseph Cardijn, in which we are involved in a continuous cycle of attending to our world, judging how we should respond to it, acting, and then reflecting again on the effect of our actions. Within that cycle, discernment emphasises the importance of reflecting on the movements of our hearts and the way in which these affect our actions and decisions. It also gives an important place to the Gospel and the way of Jesus when we reflect on our world and to our actions.
Shared reflection with others has always been part of the shaping of Christian conscience, even though it could slip out of sight when the examination of conscience was identified with individual prayer in preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Pope Francis has again emphasised the communal dimension of conscience by encouraging Catholics at every level to share their discernment in parishes, dioceses and internationally. To belong to the Church is to share in the life of many communities – our parish, prayer and conversation group, choir and school.
In each of these we shall have decisions to make, each of which can help us to be more attentive to Jesus’ way and bring us closer to God.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES
A question of conscience: Questions and activities
Students will explore how conscience helps guide good choices, drawing inspiration from Jesus and the community. Using the See, Judge, Act model, older students will reflect on attitudes toward neurodivergent individuals and the ethical implications of AI.