Formation of conscience and discernment

Abstract

Formation of moral conscience and discernment in Christian moral life are central to Pope Francis’ Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (AL). This article follows the line of thought underpinning the holistic pastoral approach that Pope Francis charts in his first reference to conscience and discernment in chapter two of AL. To those who are engaged in the pastoral ministry of couples and families, Pope Francis insists: "We have long thought that simply by stressing doctrinal, bioethical and moral issues, without encouraging openness to grace, we were providing sufficient support to families, strengthening the marriage bond and giving meaning to marital life. We find it difficult to present marriage more as a dynamic path to personal development and fulfilment than as a lifelong burden. We also find it hard to make room for the consciences of the faithful, who very often respond as best they can to the Gospel amid their limitations, and are capable of carrying out their own discernment in complex situations. We have been called to form consciences, not to replace them (AL 37)." With this exhortation and the abundance of other references to the notion of conscience and discernment in AL, Pope Frances gives a more robust recognition of the moral conscience of laypeople. At the same time, he insists that the pastors’ maturity of conscience is a necessary condition to confront the existential predicament of couples and to accompany them in their moral journey.1 Pope Francis’ appeal to the rehabilitation of the notion of moral conscience conveys a double message. First, he points out unequivocally that those engaged in pastoral ministry have the role of forming the moral conscience of the faithful, not to replace it. The role of the pastor is not to disempower but empower the moral conscience of the faithful and to foster personal discernment so that the discerner can perceive what “for now” can be the most generous response to God’s call (AL 303). Secondly, he reaffirms the long-standing tradition on the primacy of conscience, which has a central place and space in one’s moral life.