Conscience and Democracy

In his recent post, Father Araujo argues that “The conscience of the faithful Catholic citizen, in its authentic form, is informed by objective truth as God has revealed and as the Church teaches.” Some on this site have argued, and Father Araujo also believes that an authentic conscience is not merely informed by Church teachings, but must conform itself to the teachings of the Magisterium. As Father Araujo continues, “’Our faith teaches that Catholics cannot, in good conscience, disagree with the Church on questions of morality.’” To fail to conform one’s conscience with the Magisterium, he suggests is not to be a faithful Catholic, and it is maintained that this is not only the current view of the Vatican, but the meaning of the Magisterium. Let us assume this to be correct.

For much of American history, anti-Catholicism was rampant because Catholics “took orders from a foreign power.” If Catholics were to accept the absolute power of the Magisterium (the overwhelming majority do not), is there any reason to believe that anti-Catholicism would not again become rampant? I suspect it would because the idea of freedom of (“subjective”) conscience is deeply embedded in the traditions of the country (it has also long been a part of Catholic tradition), and the idea of following the dictates of a foreign power seems undemocratic to most Americans.

This is not to say that “First Things” Catholics are wrong about freedom of conscience  (though I think they are); it is to say that it would be very difficult for them persuasively to maintain that their version of Catholicism is consistent with American democracy. On the other hand, the conception of conscience held by the overwhelming majority of American Catholics is fully consistent with American democracy. My understanding of what American Catholics believe is that appropriate respect and deference must be paid to the Magisterium, but respect and deference is not the same as absolute submission. It is the right and the duty of Catholics to follow their conscience, and, in doing so, they are faithful Catholics and good citizens.