CDF official on Newman, conscience

September 19, 2011

A year after the beatification of Blessed John Henry Newman, an official of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has examined Blessed John Henry Newman’s sometimes misunderstood teaching on conscience.

Father Hermann Geissler writes that “according to Newman, it is impossible for conscience to come into direct conflict with the doctrinal and moral teaching of the Church, for conscience has no authority in questions of revealed truth; the Church is its infallible guardian … To refer to Newman’s words with the intention of pitting the authority of conscience against the authority of the Pope is incorrect.”

 

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Further information:

• Teacher of Conscience (L’Osservatore Romano)
• Hermann Geißler (Wikipedia)