Chapter 2 Vocabulary Freedom and Conscience

Concupiscence

Human desires that remain disordered due to the temporal consequences of Original Sin.

Conscientious objection

a personal appeal to carry out a particular action that has been ordered by legitimate authority would be against one's own conscience.

Culpable

the quality of being guilty or deserving punishment for participation in sin.

Deliberation

the premeditation or forethought that weighs one's options before making a moral act.

Doubtful Conscience

judgment of conscience that occurs when there is doubt about the good or evil of an act done or omitted. **Before acting on a doubtful conscience one must determine the moral rectitude of an act.

Evil

that which is opposed to the moral law and thus entails sin.

Examination of conscience

prayerful self-reflection on one's words and deeds in light of the gospel to determine how one has sinned against God. **Preparation for the Sacrament of Penance.

Full Knowledge

the clear and deliberate knowledge of the merit or sinfulness of an action. It is required as a condition before a person can be guilty of sin.

Human act

an act that is performed with both knowledge and free will. They can be morally good or morally evil.

Ignorance

the lack of knowledge.

Indirect responsibility

the attribution of a secondary effect that follows as a natural result of the primary effect.

Invincible Ignorance

Ignorance that cannot be overcome by ordinary diligence. The guilt of a sin committed under invincible ignorance is not imputed to the sinner.

The ignorance can be lack of knowledge, either of fact or of law, scarcity of evidence, insufficient time or talent in the person, or some other factor.

Moral act

any human that has a moral content and involves deliberation or choice.

Partial knowledge

knowledge that is incomplete due to the presence of some obstacle interfering with a moral judgment.

Prudence

the ability to discern the most suitable and moral course of action.

Responsibility

the demand for an account of one's acts; it includes accepting the consequences of those acts.

Vincible ignorance

lack of knowledge for which a person is morally responsible due to lack of diligence.

Violence

coercion or the application of an external force against a person's will.

Blessed

As used in the Beatitudes, it means “bliss,” a reference to the ultimate happiness of Heaven

Freedom of Excellence

The power to act freely in the pursuit of human perfection

Subject Morality

Moral standards that are not universal but are decided upon by the individuals involved