Hot on the heels of this item – wherein one American bishop compares supporting pro-choice candidates to endorsing homicide — a retired priest, Fr. Emmett Coyne, has penned a short opinion piece on the importance of conscience, and he takes the bishops to task:

A well-formed conscience, according to the bishops, is interpreted as being fashioned by Catholic moral teaching. Historically, the institutional church did not articulate clearly and concisely, unambiguously and unequivocally its understanding of moral positions. Through centuries it clarified positions. It would like members to think otherwise. When the Church governed the Papal States it routinely condoned capital punishment, a position from which it has shifted.

One’s conscience is one’s own. Ultimately, we live and die as a unique person if we are true to our own conscience. While we seek input from sources outside of self, in the end we have to decide for ourselves. Following the conscientious decision of another is not necessarily being true to self.

Conscience trumps hierarchy.

Franz Jagerstatter was an Austrian farmer during the Third Reich. As a father of three daughters he was inducted for military service. He refused, saying Hitler’s wars were immoral. Even his bishop attempted to persuade him to comply “for the good of the Fatherland.” He remained steadfast and was eventually beheaded in a Berlin prison. Jagerstatter, a simple Catholic farmer, was able to conclude Hitler’s wars were immoral while the German-Austrian bishops were unable. They counseled compliance not dissent. He was true to his conscience, despite the bishops and today is being considered a saint, like Thomas More, faithful to his conscience.

Bishops indeed have a task to teach and educate, but they cannot usurp the role of judge of another’s conscience. That is domain of God alone. Unfortunately, today, they are perceived as being the judge of others’ conscience, particularly as they have politicized the Eucharist. They are determining who has a right to receive or not. They have sadly undermined their role as teachers by selective unfairness. They are slow to deny Communion to politicians who favor capital punishment, support an immoral war, the inequity of income distribution, etc.

The prayer a Catholic prays before receiving Communion is, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you.” But now a Catholic needs to pass judgment on having a well-formed conscience before proceeding to receive Communion (praying now, “Lord, I am worthy!”).

Cardinal Newman’s Letter to the Duke of Norfolk is an effort to discern a personal conscience. He concludes the letter: “Certainly, if I am obliged to bring religion into after-dinner toasts, (which indeed does not seem quite the thing) I shall drink — to the Pope, if you please — still, to Conscience first, and to the Pope afterwards.” Could not one today replace pope with bishops?

There’s more, so check out the rest.