I had the pleasure on Thursday, October 15, of sharing some thoughts with the fine French Catholic magazine Famille Chretienne. The reporter did his job well. He went straight to the heart of a key issue in this year’s synod discussions– the nature of personal conscience. To borrow directly from the interview:

Famille Chretienne: Some think that the Church should leave more space for personal conscience. That would help the faithful to overcome the “obstacles” — so they say — which the Church creates for them on the question of birth control orthe sacraments (Reconciliation and Communion) for divorced and remarried couples. What is your opinion?

Archbishop Chaput: Each of us has the duty to follow his or her conscience. But conscience doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and it’s more than a matter of personal opinion or preference. The Church is not a collection of sovereign individuals. We’re a community, a family, organized around the person of Jesus Christ and his Gospel. We have an obligation to form our consciences in the truth. That means we need to allow ourselves to be guided by the wisdom and teaching of the Church that Jesus founded.

Read the article “Truth, Conscience And The Work of The Synod” on catholicphilly.com.