Christian Morality &
evil.
the Social Teachings
of the Church
============================
“Do not do unto others whatever you would
have them do to you.” (Matthew 7:12)
BY MAKING HIS FREE SELF-OFFERING ON THE
CROSS
o Complete revelation of divine love & the
measure of Christian Discipleship.
“That you love one another, even as I have
ever loved you, that you also love one another.
By this all men will know that you are my
disciples if you have love for one another.”
(John 13;24)
Christian charity
Recognizes that certain acts are evil and to be
avoided.
Christian maturity
What is good by the truth and beauty of God.
- Conscience –
- Subjective norm of Morality.
- Etymology: Con (with)+Scientia (knowledge)
- Latin word “Cum” (together) & “Scientia”, “Scire”
(to know)
- Final say in making moral decisions.
- Helps a person make the final judgment on how
to act in a given situation.
- The inner voice summoning us to love the good
and avoid the evil.
- Basic tendency toward the good (CFC701)
- Most secret core and sanctuary. (Catechism #1776)
- A law inscribed in our hearts by God.
- Our moral compass that directs us to good and
- Our moral sensory faculty
= Capacity to see, feel, hear, smell,
and touch.
= Moral appetite us as we judge
moral questions.
- Judgment of reason
= Human person recognizes the
moral quality of a concrete act.
[Moments]
1. INTECEDENT – Discerns (before the act)
2. CONCOMITANT – In action (during the act)
3. CONSEQUENT – Evaluates an action that has
already been done (after the act)
Levels
1. INSTINCTIVE
 Dominated by fear or punishment &
desire for approval or reward.
 Natural level, normal for children.
2. MORAL/PHILOSOPHICAL
 Ethical level
 Awareness of the inner good/evil of an
act.
3. CHRISTIAN LEVEL
 One’s Christian faith illuminates, clarifies
and deepens what we perceive as truly
worthy of being a person.
 Personal call to wholeness and holiness.
Notions
 Feeling of guilt
 Worry, dissatisfaction
 Restlessness / a feeling of “hiya”
 Do something wrong
 Sincerity
 ST. Aquinas’ 2 essential Formation of conscience
parts of conscience  Informed
 Enlightened
 SYNDERESIS  Formed
= Basic moral principles
= Use of right reason WAYS W/C CONSCIENCE IS
= Starting point
FORMED
 CONSCIENTIA (CONSCIENCE)
= Practical reason  A well informed conscience is upright and
= What to do in a particular truthful.
situation.  The education of conscience is a lifelong
= End of “judgment of conscience” task.
 Prayer Life
Roll of conscience = Studying the word of God and
the teachings of the Church.
 Investigate
= Responsiveness to the indwelling
 Judge
Holy Spirit.
 Pass judgment on one’s moral action.
= Examination of one’s conscience.

Conscience as a practical  1. CORRECT OR TRUE CONSCIENCE

= Corresponds to objective moral
moral judgment values and precept.

 The dictate of Conscience  2. FALSE OR ERRONEOUS CONSCIENCE

 A practical moral judgment on the = Mistakenly judges something as
morality of a particular action morally good which is objectively
commanding to do what is good and avoid evil.
evil. (a) Scrupulous
 When in doubt to obey or not. - One that thinks little or no
 Inferential reasoning using principles of reason judges an act to be
natural law. morally evil when it is not.
 Connecting link between law and - Exaggerates the gravity
individual acts. of sin.
- Sees sin when it does not
2 basic elements of
exist.
conscience (b) Perplexed
- Judges wrongly that sin is
1. MORAL JUDGMENT committed both in the
 Discerns what is right or wrong. performance or omission of
2. MORAL OBLIGATION an act.
 Command to do the good and avoid the
evil.
 (c) Lax Sin stories
- Insufficient that there is
no sin.  Adam & Eve
- Insensitive to a moral  Cain & Abel
obligation in a particular  Noah & the Flood
area.  Tower of Babel
(d) Pharisaical
- Minimizes grave sin but 5 THINGS ABOUT SIN
maximizes small ones.
 Sin is an offense to God.
Principles of conscience  Sin separates us from the fellowship of
God.
formation  Committing one sin is regarded as being
guilty.
 PRINCIPLE NO. 1
 Wages of sin are death.
- Conscience is supreme.
 All of us are guilty of sin.
 PRINCIPLE NO. 2
-Though a person must always Dimensions of sin
follow his conscience, he must
develop continuously an informed  MORTAL SIN
conscience. = Latin “mors” w/c means death.
= Morally wrong decision that is so
- Sin & Forgiveness– intensive that it gives a wrong
orientation to man’s life.
= Causes a total break in our relationship
 An offense against reason, truth, and with God.
right conscience.
 Failure in genuine love for God and [3 CONDITIONS]
neighbor. (a) Full knowledge/
 Wounds the nature of the human person awareness of the wrong
and injures human solidarity. choice.
(b) Gravity/seriousness of
Concept of sin sacred the matter.
(c) Full consent of the free
scriptures will.
OLD TESTAMENT  VENIAL SIN
1. Missing the mark = Latin “Venia” w/c means favor/pardon.
2. Depravity and perversity = Causes a weakening or a strain in our
3. Rebellion and transgression relationship with God.
NEW TESTAMENT SINS OF OMISSION
1. Sin is considered as ungrateful = Failure to perform an obligatory act.
desertion. (Lk. 15:11-32)
SINS OF COMMISSION
2. Sinners live in enmity against God.
(1 Cor. 6:9)
= Performance of a forbidden act.
Capital sin
- Social Justice–
Easily become vices and sources of many other sins.
- SEVEN CAPITAL SINS  Non-material indicator of human
(a) Pride development.
(b) Envy  Complex issue
(c) Gluttony  Based on the premise that all people
(d) Sloth are entitled to the same basic rights
(e) Lust and freedoms as everybody else.
(f) Avarice/Greed  Based on the idea of a society that
(g) Wrath/Anger gives individuals and groups fair
treatment and a just share of the
- NEW CAPITAL SINS benefits of society.
(a) Polluting
(b) Genetic Engineering Equality
(c) Obscene Riches
Treat everyone similarly.
(d) Taking Drugs
(e) Abortion Equity
(f) Pedophilia
Treatment is just and fair.
(g) Causing social injustice
Social justice issues
Sources of sin
 Gender Equality
- TEMPTATION
 Class Discrimination
= Incitement acting upon a person to do
 Racial Discrimination
evil.
 Minorities
= Attraction by a good which in the
 Elderly
larger context constitutes evil.
 Disabled
- SEDUCTION  Street People/Vagrants
= Deliberate effort to lead others to sin.  AIDS Victims
 Rights of the Child
Emotional effects of sin  Cruel & Unusual Punishment
 Delay of Execution
- Separates
- Saddens Human development
- Scars
Predicated on equity and inclusiveness.
- Sours
- Sickens
- Sears
- Social Encyclicals–
Based on truths given to us by reason and a
revealed Christian anthropology.
 Pope Leo XIII’s Encyclical Rerum
Novarum
 Pacem in Terris (John XXIII, 1963)
 Laborem Exercens (John Paul II, 1981)
 Evangelium Vitae (John Paul II, 1995)
 Caritas In Veritae (Benedict XVI, 2009)
 Laudato Si’ (Francis, 2015)