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Today, there rages in our nation a debate about the role of conscience and the authority on which it rests. We question how anyone outside the religious sphere is qualified to determine what is conscionable and what is not. The state does not have the right to arrogate to itself the power to define one’s moral obligations as it pertains to conscience. Let us never forget that the First Amendment to the Bill of Rights guarantees no prohibition against the free exercise of religion and religious freedom.
In the nineteen-seventies, as the winds of change began to sweep through the ranks of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America, over two thousand faithful, including Bishops, Priests, and Laity, gathered in St. Louis, Missouri. From that gathering emerged the significant declaration known as the Affirmation of St. Louis. This document asserted that the duty and authority to witness to conscience belongs to the Church and its members. We continue to uphold this most fundamental principle.
The Affirmation addressed the essential role of conscience and the Church's responsibility in bearing witness to Christian morality: teaching its faithful to follow it in their lives and to reject the false standards set by the secular world. Today, we reaffirm those principles of morality emphasized in the Affirmation. We firmly believe that matters of conscience and morality belong to God alone and His Church, which continues to assert its role as the Custodian of faith and morals.
The conscience, understood as the inherent knowledge of right and wrong, cannot function independently as the ultimate judge of morals. Every Christian is called to shape their conscience in accordance with Christian morality, guided by the Divine Moral Law and the Mind of Christ as revealed in Holy Scriptures, as well as by the teachings and Tradition of the Church. We believe that when the Christian conscience is properly informed and directed, it must uphold the following moral principles, which are essential for the exercise of religious freedom.
All individuals, both personally and collectively, bear responsibility to their Creator for their actions, motivations, thoughts, and words. This accountability is rooted in Christian morality, as we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, guided by our conscience and the principles of religious freedom.
Every human being, from the time of his conception, is a creature and child of God, made in His image and likeness, an infinitely precious soul. This understanding is fundamental to Christian morality, which teaches that the unjustifiable or inexcusable taking of life is always sinful. Our conscience guides us in recognizing the value of each life, and it is essential to uphold religious freedom, allowing individuals to embrace these beliefs.
All people are bound by the dictates of Natural Law and by the revealed Will of God, as they discern these truths through their conscience, which is shaped by Christian morality and respects the principles of religious freedom.
The God-given sacramental bond in marriage between one man and one woman reflects Christian morality and is God’s loving provision for procreation and family life. According to our conscience, sexual activity is to be practiced only within the bonds of Holy Matrimony, respecting the principles of religious freedom.
We recognize that man, as inheritor of original sin, is “very far gone from original righteousness.” As a rebel against God’s authority, he is liable to His righteous judgment, highlighting the importance of Christian morality and the role of conscience in guiding individuals. This understanding also underlines the necessity of religious freedom, allowing individuals to navigate their moral responsibilities.
We recognize, too, that God loves His children and has particularly demonstrated this through the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is through the lens of Christian morality that we understand man cannot achieve salvation by his own efforts, but rather through the Grace of God, which is accessible through repentance and the acceptance of God’s forgiveness. This understanding is essential for nurturing a clear conscience and upholding the principles of religious freedom.
We believe it is the duty of the Church and her members to bear witness to Christian morality, to embody it in their lives, and to uphold their conscience by rejecting the false standards of the world while cherishing religious freedom.
In Christ our Savior,
The Rt. Rev’d Kenneth Kinner
The Rt. Rev’d Edmund Jayaraj
The Rt. Rev’d Leo Michael
The Rt. Rev’d James McNeley
The Rt. Rev’d Ronald Greeson
Bishops of the Holy Catholic Church Anglican Rite
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