Only a Catholic can have a conscience

Regarding Pope Francis’ comments on atheists and heaven, (Irish Examiner, Sept 12), let me say that celibacy has a spiritual dimension that transcends discipline.

In an article published by L’Osservatore Romano, Stefan Heid, professor of liturgy and hagiography at the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archeology, said “according to the judgement of the early Church, ecclesiastical celibacy has dogmatic relevance...When Jesus spoke of the eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven [for example], it was understood as perfect continence for all of the disciples, regardless of whether or not the Apostles were married.”

Pope Francis also said that God would forgive atheists, as long as they “live according to their consciences.” What the pontiff fails to say is that all people have a duty to achieve an informed conscience, but this can only be through Catholic teaching.

This is important, because the conscience can, in some, be degraded at its core to a mechanism of excuses for one’s conduct.

The atheist incrementally constructs a wall of resistance to belief in God. This neglect of one’s being dulls one to the voice of truth and makes one incapable of hearing the voice of conscience.

Convictions, then, might seem rational, but are only the product of self-righteousness, conformism, and intellectual laziness.

Paul Kokoski

Ontario

Canada