Brian V Johnstone
Extract
The aim of this article is to answer the question: what are the norms that guide conscience in judging whether a proposed innovation ought to be accepted into the Catholic tradition or not? For the purposes of this article, we need to integrate conscience into a wider theological context that embraces faith, the Church, the tradition of the Church and authority in the Church. The first step in the argument will be to clarify the nature of conscience and its relationship to the elements that have just been mentioned. The second step will be to explain the notion of tradition and the relation between conscience and tradition. In this context I will seek to establish the structures of tradition in relation to the two most basic innovations: the innovation of Creation and the innovation of the Incarnation, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. These, I will suggest, provide the source of the norms for accepting or rejecting other prospective innovations into the tradition.
Johnstone B. Moral Conscience and Christian Innovation: Elements for a Theological Reading. In: Sgreccia E, Laffitte J editors. Proceedings of the 13th General Assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life. 2007.