Catholic Dictionary

Find accurate definitions of over 5,000 Catholic terms and phrases (including abbreviations). Based on Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

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BAD FAITH

The condition of a person who either acts against the dictates of his or her conscience or who has not sought to enlighten conscience before making a moral decision. The term is also applied to one who has acquired another person's property and does not take reasonable means either to find the owner or to restore the owner's possessions. People are likewise said to be in bad faith when they do not embrace Catholicism although convinced of its truth, or when they do not take appropriate measures to learn what is the true faith.

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