By Tom Klocek

“Moral principles do not depend on a majority vote. Wrong is wrong, even if everybody is wrong. Right is right, even if nobody is right.” —Fulton J. Sheen

“One cannot do evil that good may come of it.” —Catechism of the Catholic Church 1756, 1791

Guilt, remorse, responsibility, regret. All of these things involve a feeling of wrongdoing. Why do we have such feelings? Everyone has them. Everyone at one time or another has said to themselves, “I wish I hadn’t done that.” It is because we have an inherent belief in right and wrong.

Some claim that there is no such thing as absolute right and wrong (i.e., moral good and evil). Ask them if Hitler was evil. I don’t know of anyone who wouldn’t say he was, except maybe Hitler’s closest followers — and that’s because they were as evil as he was. The reason we feel such things as guilt and remorse is because we have a conscience.

Dictionary.com defines conscience as “the inner sense of what is right or wrong in one’s conduct or motives” and “… that controls or inhibits the actions or thoughts of an individual.” When we do something we know or feel is wrong, no matter how hard we try to justify it (“the devil made me do it”), this sense of guilt, remorse, and even need for repentance manifests itself in some way or another.

Sometimes the response to guilt is subtle, such as an attempt to justify one’s actions even though not prompted by a direct accusation. For example, the recent letter from self-proclaimed Catholic representatives quoting a statement from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) taken out of context, claiming they were following their consciences to support abortion and other liberal (non-Catholic) programs, could be seen as evidence that they feel guilty of supporting intrinsic evil but are trying to justify it through their “faith.”

Try as they might, they cannot justify their way out of this guilt. Romans 1:32: “Though they know God’s decree that those who do such things deserve to die, they not only do them but approve those who practice them.” Rather than attempt repentance and conversion, they instead try to redefine the sin. Compassion for sinners does not mean we condone their sin.

“Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. … For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God” (CCC 1776). This law encourages him to do good and avoid evil. It includes the natural law, what is proper and what is not.

However, conscience is not something that can be neglected until one feels the need to act on it. It must be nurtured and fed, just like our bodies and our souls. In other words, it must be properly formed. Without attention, it can be dulled and stifled through habitual error and sin, or by following worldly things, ideas, and activities without question. “It is not easy for man, wounded by sin, to maintain moral balance” (CCC 1811).

Our society today is deeply wounded by sin. The decline in faith is an indicator.

“The most frequent weak points in man are, from time to time, always the same: pride, money, and lust.” —Fr. Gabriel Amorth, former chief exorcist of Rome

Too often, people want to redefine the sin to suit their wants and desires rather than even try to follow God’s will. When one denies this law, then one finds himself suffering, either consciously or subconsciously, often leading to depression, anxiety, and, in extreme cases, suicide.

In fact, this is what has occurred since the onslaught of the sexual revolution and the tyranny of moral relativism in today’s society. On the one hand, we see increases in suicides, depression, sexual assaults, other forms of violence, and family breakups. According to the CDC, suicide rates have increased nearly 8% over the last two years. However, on the side of faith, we see that organizations like Pew Research continue to show that religious people are happier and better adjusted than the non-religious.

So why this emphasis on religion when discussing what have become political issues? Because religion and faith anchor our reason. Contrary to popular opinion, faith is not opposed to science and reason. In fact, they go hand in hand. And society reflects this.

“Untouched by the breath of God, unrestricted by human conscience, both capitalism and socialism are repulsive.” —Alexander Solzhenitsyn, interview with Joseph Pearce, February 2003

The more we withdraw from God, the worse our plight becomes. Atheists and those who deny the importance of God in our lives might not want to hear that, but it is reflected in the history of humankind. With freedom comes responsibility. This sense of responsibility is closely tied to conscience.

“When individuals are responsible, society prospers; when they lose their sense of responsibility, society decays.” —Fr. John Catoir, Joyfully Living the Gospel Day by Day

In this light, we see that the government tends to throw money at a problem rather than try to correct its causes. A good example is the current border crisis, with wave upon wave of illegal immigrants pouring into the country. Rather than close the border or even throttle down the flow, these immigrants are bused or flown to other parts of the country, where “sanctuary cities” bemoan the impact on their cities and budgets. “Emergency funding” is requested in order to build housing for these illegals rather than deal with the homelessness that continues to plague veterans. Similarly, the uncoordinated push for anything that seems in accord with “green energy” is advanced unequivocally despite the overall damage to the environment as a whole that these policies will effect. This damaging the environment to save the environment is like the Critical Race Theory idea of combating racism with racism.

“When the first thing one notices about another person is his race rather than their shared humanity, divisions grow.” —Thomas Gallatin

The pro-abortion atmosphere is a perfect example of “slavery to sin” and the dulling of conscience. The majority of the nation is so enamored with abortion, they perceive in it a personal right to sin, and then they compound that sin with the murder of an innocent baby while ignoring the real issue of good and evil. “There are some concrete acts … that it is always wrong to choose, because choosing them entails … a moral evil” (CCC 1755). “One may not do evil that good may result from it” (CCC 1756).

“Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin’” (John 8:34). If we fail to return to God, things will get worse, not better, for we humans can do nothing without God.

“On the day of judgment no one will be able to hide. No one will be able to plead the excuse that they simply did not know what was good and what was evil, what was God’s will and what was not.” —Dr. Peter Kreeft