Truth

From cbsnews.com:

When the pope or official Catholic teaching differs from one's own conscience, the conscience should be the guide, said 72 percent of Catholics surveyed, with just 18 percent saying the pope must be obeyed.Read Entire Article

Forgive me for bringing back a year old article, but the above quote highlights something I've been thinking about a lot lately. Its very disheartening to hear and read all the rumblings coming from people who call themselves Catholics, yet insist on raging against the teaching of the Catholic Church and calling for change. To name a few examples; abortion, homosexuality, artificial birth control, female priest, etc.

The big thing that brought me to the Catholic Church was the fullness of Truth. The Truth of God, the Truth that is God, was established before time itself began and will remain after time ceases. It is the sacred charge of the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, to preserve and guard the Truth through time.

The Truth of God is timeless. Likewise the Church in its stewardship of the Truth is not affected by the tides of social norms and popular conjectors through time. The Church stands as the Pillar of Truth. It is not in the capacity of the Church to change the deposit of Truth to appease the conscience of the day.

All mankind is imbedded with a fundamental moral conscience, a knowledge of right and wrong. To often the ebb and flow of cultural and societal beliefs distorts the fundamental conscience. The Church exists as a steady guide to right the direction of the conscience. When official Catholic teaching in matters of faith and morals differs from individual conscience, the Church should be the guide.