Conscience

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MOST REV. OSCAR V. CRUZ, D.D., JUDICIAL VICAR National Appellate Matrimonial Tribunal./ CBCP-NAMT OFFICE CBCP Bldg. 470 Gen. Luna st., Intramuros, 1002 Manila

Conscience is the judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the ethical dimension or moral quality of a concrete act – already done, being done or about to be done. It is highly important for every person to head and follow the voice or bidding of his conscience – not only for himself but also for all those affected by his acts. Reason: It is conscience that clearly and silently whispers to every human agent with the proper use of reason and free will, what is the right and just thing to do as well as the evil and vicious thing to avoid. This is why listening to one’s conscience is a must when ocne is wake and in command of his superior faculties.

But what if one has a so called “Doubtful Conscience”? When one is precisely in doubt about what is the right to do or the wrong thing to avoid? This is exactly the case when someone should ask for advice – neither from those who are his beneficiaries nor from who suffer losses on his account. In the concrete, for someone who has but an honest goodness common sense, it will not be hard for him to seek counsel from sincere and upright resource persons he personally knows and really respects.

And what if one has a “Wrong Conscience”? This is the case when wrong is thought of as right, and right is considered as wrong. The truth is that this situation is a terrible personal as well as social liability. The agent is thereby afflicted with an erroneous judgment in doing what should be instead avoided, and/or in avoiding precisely what should be done. Someone with such an erratic conscience is a continuous danger and scourge to everybody he comes to relate with. He thinks he is always right. He finds big self-gratification in the evil does and/or the good he avoids doing.

What then if one has a “Puerile Conscience”? This is a terrible personal drawback for the subject agent himself and a wretched reality for everybody else in his employ or at his command. This is exactly the case when a boy has assumed a responsible task for adults, when a juvenile has taken an accountable leadership Office in society. It is akin to the figure of a “driver” who in fact does know how to drive, does not care where he goes, and does not bother to learn the place he precisely wants to go to.

The matter of doubtful, wrong or “Puerile Conscience” has a big bearing on the understanding and application of the law. This is exactly the case in point about the duel now obtaining between the Executive Department and the Judiciary. In this particular loud and noisy bout, the branch of the Government that has the adult and right conscience eventually wins the combat. There is no place therein for someone with but a “Puerile Conscience” when the territorial integrity of the Country is at stake, when national socio-economic development is imperative, when the quest for truth, justice and peace. “Puerile Conscience” and “Play Station” – these make the right and proper pairing.