During the Lenten season, the Catholic Church echoes the call of the Lord Jesus for us to accompany him in the desert. The desert is an uncomfortable place. It strips us of our excesses. It humbles us ...

The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics recently hosted the conference "Conscience in Catholicism: Rights, Responsibilities, and Institutional Policies." Scholars from around the world gathered to ...

Fundamental to the liberties of man is that faculty of the soul termed “conscience.” Today that term connotes for most people only a moral monitor—a twinge of mind that indicates a moral judgment of ...

Primacy of conscience has been thrust to the fore of Church-wide discussions on marriage, contraception and homosexuality at the Ordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family. But as we saw happen in the ...

“Conscience” keeps popping up in contemporary political and ethical debate. Think Hobby Lobby and the offended consciences of those who would deny contraceptive coverage to their employees. Think ...

The New York Times obituary for former defense secretary Robert McNamara (1916–2009) included these sad lines about his later life: “He wore the expression of a haunted man. He could be seen in the ...

Pope Francis often makes headlines with in-flight press conferences at the end of papal trips, and his return to Rome from visiting Southeast Asia in September was no exception. Asked what advice he ...

In a competition, what you don’t have matters as much as what you do. If you’re not carrying the burdens that constrain your opponents, you have an advantage over them. Lacking consciences, sociopaths ...