Instead, it would like to see an approach where conscience and discernment go hand-in-hand with the moral norms laid down by the Church.

The Academy's reflections are influenced by infinitesimal changes to moral theology.

As an example, the Academy added its views to Italy's debate over ending life. Resorting to assisted suicide could be a lesser evil than actual euthanasia, the Academy said.

On Friday it released a 500-page volume called Theological Ethics of Life. It appears to continue along a less "black and white" morality in favour of moral reasoning.

In the new text, the Academy (which is responsible for bioethical issues) outlines significant formerly unimaginable changes.

Incorporating the proceedings of a seminar held last autumn, theologians and experts discuss updating "Evangelium vitae", John Paul II's 1995 encyclical and major text on family and life.

The role of individual conscience

Theological Ethics of Life looks at bioethics, from procreation to artificial intelligence. Some believe it puts the traditional moral theology of the Church in second place behind other considerations.

The Academy says conscience is the "place of moral responsibility". It is not simply something whose task is to apply the rules as best as possible.

It is an important paradigm shift that follows directly from the pope's conception of morality.

"The law needs the conscience of Christians.

"Norms for action in a particular area of existence do not fall from the sky, but originate in reflection upon the experience of those who have gone before us," Theological says.

Norms as a point of reference

Moral reflection is like a constant choice between two goods. It is a result of a conflict of values, rather than the application of moral norms enacted by a higher authority.

Consequently, the moral norm appears only as one of the elements guiding the individual in exercising a choice. The person's experience and cultural context are also part of it.

"The norm is a point of reference, but it is not enough to make a moral judgment," says Jesuit Dr Carlo Casalone M.D. from the Pontifical Academy.

He denies this in any way weakens the Church's moral edifice.

"It may seem reassuring to think that everything is written and that it is enough to apply ready-made norms, but this is a false security. Reality is never like this," he says.

This is a "change of perspective" in our way of thinking about morality, he notes.

Rejecting rigorism

Theological opens a methodological revolution in the Vatican. Discussions, especially on moral theology, usually take place behind closed doors.

The author, Father Jorge José Ferrer, promotes the paradigm shift developed in Theology.

"These principles are not new, but the pre-eminence given to them by the magisterium of Pope Francis contributes to a decidedly renewed configuration of the theological ethics of life, far from the rigorism that still fuels some ecclesial discourse and contributes to a caricatured vision of Catholic morality that is frequently found in the media, social networks and popular perception," he writes.

The Academy says "the pope is perfectly aware" of the changes underway.

Source

• La Croix

Trying to awaken the conscience of the world to reject the "culture of death" which creates "structures of sin," Pope St. John Paul II wrote in Evangelium Vitae, "How can we fail to consider the violence against life done to millions of human beings, especially children, who are forced into poverty, malnutrition and hunger because of an unjust distribution of resources between peoples and between social classes?

"And what of the violence inherent not only in wars as such but in the scandalous arms trade, which spawns the many armed conflicts which stain our world with blood?

"What of the spreading of death caused by reckless tampering with the world's ecological balance, by the criminal spread of drugs, or by the promotion of certain kinds of sexual activity which, besides being morally unacceptable, also involve grave risks to life?"

John Paul continued, "We shall concentrate particular attention on another category of attacks, affecting life in its earliest and in its final stages … Abortion and euthanasia are thus crimes which no human law can claim to legitimize. There is no obligation in conscience to obey such laws; instead there is a grave and clear obligation to oppose them by conscientious objection."

Then St. John Paul tackled the death penalty. He said due to improvements in the penal system, the need to execute a dangerous criminal in order to defend society was not necessary. "Such cases are very rare, if not practically non-existent," he wrote.

Many Catholics, as well as many other Christians, hold inconsistent opinions regarding the protection of life.

Some condemn abortion, but fail to oppose the mass murder of war - which mostly kills innocent people. Others work to protect the environment while promoting the murder of unborn children through abortion as a distorted means to control population.

But all life issues are morally and logically linked. It's what the Catholic Church refers to as the "consistent ethic of life."

St. John Paul explains: "Where life is involved, the service of charity must be profoundly consistent. It cannot tolerate bias and discrimination, for human life is sacred and inviolable at every stage and in every situation; it is an indivisible good. We need then to ‘show care' for all life and for the life of everyone. …

"As disciples of Jesus, we are called to become neighbors to everyone (see Lk 10:29-37), and to show special favor to those who are poorest, most alone and most in need. In helping the hungry, the thirsty, the foreigner, the naked, the sick, the imprisoned - as well as the child in the womb and the old person who is suffering or near death - we have the opportunity to serve Jesus."

Quoting St. John Chrysostom, St. John Paul wrote, " ‘Do you wish to honor the body of Christ? Do not neglect it when you find it naked. Do not do it homage here in the church with silk fabrics only to neglect it outside where it suffers cold and nakedness.'

"What is urgently called for is a general mobilization of consciences and a united ethical effort to activate a great campaign in support of life. … The purpose of the Gospel, in fact, is to transform humanity from within and to make it new."

• Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated social justice and peace columnist.

Instead, they accused her of being a bigot and a homophobe, called her intolerant, and changed the topic to something less intellectually taxing.

My friend's experience is practically a cliché. Americans who offer traditional viewpoints on moral issues in the public square have become accustomed to calumny. They know that reasoned arguments will rarely receive reasoned refutation.

In California, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone has become the victim of a well-funded smear campaign because he expects that Catholic teachers shouldn't publicly undermine Catholic beliefs.

Last month, a philosophy professor was suspended from a Catholic university for criticizing heterodox instruction. Even non-believers suffer this fate. Fashion house Dolce and Gabbana is being boycotted because its owners believe that children deserve mothers and fathers.

In the cultural conversation about moral issues, reasoned arguments seem increasingly drowned out by personal attacks. And twenty years ago today, Pope St. John Paul II predicted this would happen.

Today marks the twentieth anniversary of John Paul's Evangelium Vitae, his encyclical on the mission of the Gospel of Life. Evangelium Vitae is probably the most comprehensive and compelling encyclical on moral issues I have ever read.

It addresses the evils of abortion, contraception, and euthanasia. But the encyclical is fundamentally concerned with the relationships between love, truth, freedom, and justice. Twenty years after its promulgation, we must return to Evangelium Vitae. Its message becomes more relevant each year. Continue reading

• Bishop James Conley in Public Discourse

James Conley is the Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska.