synderesis and the magisterium: a theological proposal

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Abstract

In a world prone to relativism, any person or institution claiming a consistent and unalterable doctrine is misconstrued by those who profess the ‘supreme
principle’ of the relativity of all principles, the absolute absence of all absolutes. Hence, the Magisterium of the Church is often considered outdated and is
criticized, with possible dangerous consequences. Humans have innate habits without which they could never be rational, one of these being Synderesis, which regulates human activity and is a solid base on which a society of peace can be built. Besides, this habit is essentially linked to the order of human rational nature and of the Universe, both of which are creatures of God, Who reflects His own divine Being in Creation. Thus, when the Church urges all to live according to the order of rational nature, far from proposing what is outdated; She only offers what can bring peace to human beings. 

Keywords:
Synderesis Conscience Natural law Freedom Teaching

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Article Details

Author Biography

, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana

Doctorate in Sacred Theology (2012) from the Pontificia Università S. Tommaso d'Aquino (PUST) - Angelicum (Rome). In addition to his Canonical Licence in Theology from the Universidad Pontifícia Bolivariana (UPB), he also holds a Licence in Humanities from the Universidad Pontificia Madre y Maestra (PUCMM) in the Dominican Republic. A member of the Clerical Society Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right Virgo Flos Carmeli, and of the Heralds of the Gospel, he is currently a professor of Dogmatic Theology at the Instituto Teológico São Tomas de Aquino (ITTA) in São Paulo, Brazil, and director of the Lumen Veritatis magazine. This article is a part of the dissertation, with the same name, competently directed by Dr. Gonzalo Soto Posada, for the Canonical Licence in Theology at the UPB.