Vatican cardinal says Church enlightens consciences amidst moral indifference

Vatican City, Feb 26, 2007 / 06:58 am

Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragán,  The President of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, reinforced last week that amidst “the moral indifference that is so widespread in our days,” the Magisterium of the Pope and the bishops, “as willed by God, enlightens consciences as a living teaching of the Church.”

In his inaugural speech to the international congress, “The Christian Conscience in Support of the Right to Life,” held in Rome, the Mexican cardinal noted, “In today’s world it is easy to fall into relativism, and only a conscience enlightened by the truth is in accord with human dignity.”

“Conscience is not something, but rather somebody, that pursues the truth in accord with the order of law established by the Creator,” the Cardinal said, underscoring that the Church serves the individual conscience “because she helps to prevent the conscience from following any old moral wind.”

“In today’s world, there is a tendency to canonize relativistic subjectivism, which corresponds to the superior aspirations of the theological-spiritual nature.  Identifying the conscience with a superficial knowledge does not liberate, but rather enslaves it,” he said.

“Christian truth surpasses all cultures but it does not exclude any,” the Cardinal continued.  “In reality, Christianity is neither a European nor a Semitic culture, but rather something that has come from both.”

“Through participation in divine sonship, Christianity transcends the categories of time and space.  Thus, the role of the Church’s Magisterium is to permanently enlighten life.  The Christian conscience materializes in the distinct components of the People of God,” the Cardinal said in conclusion.