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RIGHTS OF CONSCIENCE MUST BE DEFENDED
Pope John Paul II
http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/JP2RTCON.HTM
Homily given on May 22, 1995

....in the difficult post-Reformation period, when societies were governed by the inhuman principle: “cuius regio eius religio”. By virtue of this principle, rulers forcibly imposed their own religious convictions on their subjects, violating the basic rights of conscience. .....

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... One can feel either admiration or hatred for someone who prefers to give his life rather than betray the voice of his own conscience, but certainly one cannot remain indifferent. The martyrs have so many things to tell us; first and foremost, they challenge us about the state of our conscience, they challenge everyone about fidelity to their own conscience.

Our consciences must be based on truth. Conscience...[is called] “man’s most secret core, and his sanctuary” and explains: “Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. Its voice, ever calling him to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, tells him inwardly at the right moment: do this, shun that” (Gaudium et spes, n. 16).

As we see from this quotation, conscience is a vitally important issue for every individual. It is our inner guide and also the judge of our actions. How important it is therefore for our conscience to be upright, to make judgements based on truth, to call good and evil, to know howin the Apostle’s wordsto “prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2).

Today our homeland is facing many difficult social, economic and political problems. They must be solved with wisdom and perseverance. The most important of all, however, remains the problem of a just moral order. This order is the foundation of every individual’s life and of the life of every society. For this reason, today Poland urgently and primarily needs men and women of conscience!

To be a person of conscience means first of all, obeying one’s own conscience in every situation and not silencing its inner voice, even if it is sometimes severe and demanding. It means working for what is good and increasing it within and around oneself, and never giving into evil, in the spirit of St. Paul’s words: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom 12:21).

To be a person of conscience means being demanding with oneself, getting up again after falling, being ever converted anew.

To be a person of conscience means working to build up the kingdom of Godthe kingdom of truth and life, of justice, love and peacein our families, in the communities in which we live and throughout our homeland. It also means courageously assuming responsibility for public affairs; it means being concerned for the common good and not closing our eyes to the misery and needs of our neighbor, in a spirit of Gospel solidarity: “Bear one another’s burdens” (Gal 6:2).

...Our 20th century has been a period in which human consciences have been particularly violated. In the name of totalitarian ideologies, millions of people were forced to act against their deepest convictions. Central and Eastern Europe has had unusually painful experiences in this respect. We recall this period when consciences were suppressed, when human dignity was despised, when so many innocent people suffered for deciding to remain faithful to their convictions. We recall the outstanding role taken in those difficult times by the Church in defending the rights of conscience, and not only for the benefit of believers.

In those years we often asked ourselves: Can history swim against the tide of conscience? At what price can it do so? I ask again: at what price?... This price is unfortunately the deep wounds in the nation’s moral fiber, open wounds which still need a long time to heal.

Those times, times of great trial for conscience must be remembered, since for us they are an ever timely warning and exhortation to vigilance: that Polish consciences may not yield to demoralization, that they may not surrender to the trends of moral permissiveness, that they may discover the liberating nature of the teaching of the Gospel and the commandments of God, that in making decisions they may be mindful of Christ’s warning: “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a man give in return for his life?” (Mk 8:36-37).

Despite appearances, the rights of conscience must be defended today as well. In the name of tolerance, a powerful intolerance, perhaps an ever more powerful intolerance, is actually spreading in public life and in the mass media. Believers are painfully aware of it. They notice the increasing tendency to marginalize them from the life of society: what is most sacred to them is sometimes mocked and ridiculed. These forms of recurring discrimination arouse great concern and should be a cause for much reflection.

Brothers and sisters! .... do not forget that this life depends first of all on how man will be, on how his conscience will be. Therefore we cry out in prayer:

“Come, Holy Spirit...
Come, Light of men’s hearts.
Wash clean the sinful soul, rain down your grace on the parched soul...
Warm the ice-cold heart, and give direction to the wayward”. Come, Light of consciences!
Christ’s Cross is the sign of our salvation

“Stat crux dum volvitur orbis”. On the paths of the human conscience, which are sometimes so difficult and complicated, God has put up a great “road sign” giving definitive meaning and direction to human life. It is the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. ..

Hail, O Cross of Christ! The Cross of Christ is the sign of our salvation, the sign of our faith and the sign of our hope. St. Paul writes: “We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called... the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:23-24).

The Cross reminds us of the price of our salvation. It speaks of what great value man has in God’s eyesevery man!if God loved him even unto the Cross: “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (Jn 13:1). How much this “to the end” says to us. God so loves, he loves man “to the end”. The Cross of Christ is precisely the proof of this. Can we remain indifferent to such a proof of love?

Dear brothers and sisters! In our Polish land the Cross has had its own history now for over 1,000 years. It is the history of salvation which has been written into the history of the great human community that is our nation. Down the centuries, in periods of very harsh trial, the nation has sought and found the strength to survive and to rise from its historical defeats precisely in the Cross of Christ! It has never been disappointed! The strength and wisdom of the Cross has been strong! Can that be forgotten?

“...Can one reject Christ and all that he has brought to human history? .. Certainly one can. Man is free. Man can say ‘no’ to Christ. But the basic question remains: is it licit to do this? In whose name is this licit? By virtue of what rational argument, what value close to one’s will and heart would it be possible to stand before oneself, one’s neighbor, one’s fellow citizens, one’s country, in order to cast off, to say ‘no’ to all that we have seen for 1,000 years? To all that has created and always constituted the basis of our identity?

Today, as Poland lays the foundations for its free and sovereign existence, after experiencing so many years of totalitarianism, these words must be recalled. In their light, 16 years later, a profound examination of conscience must be made: Where are we going? In what direction are consciences heading? What answer will Poland give to Christ?

Dear brothers and sisters, dear compatriots! At this great turning-point in our country’s history, as the future shape of our Republic is being decided, the Pope, your compatriot, tirelessly asks you to welcome anew, with faith and love, this legacy of Christ’s Cross. Once again, in a free and mature way, choose the Cross of Christ.... Accept responsibility for the presence of the Cross in the life of each and every one of you, in the life of your families and in the life of this great community which is Poland. Defend it! For the Apostle says: “We have this treasure in earthen vessels” (2 Cor 4:7). ....

...And here, in our presence, at the end of this meditation, is the Christ of St. John’s Revelation, Christ the Good Shepherd and Christ the Lamb of God, who gave his life for his flock (cf. Rv 7:9-14). ...Amen.