Question V: Concerning the Lax

I. What lax conscience is. - Much more numerous than the scrupulous are found in this world, alas, those who labor under a more lax conscience. But lax conscience properly is that which doubts, suspects, or probably thinks, on account of light and contemptible reasons, that an act here and now to be placed, though evil, is not evil, or is less evil than it is, e.g., venial when it is mortal. Hence it is as if moral anesthesia.¹

¹ Theologians have few things concerning the lax, especially in the treatise on Conscience. Before others Haine, Raphael of St. Joseph, Beaudoin, Prummer can be seen; likewise Legrand in Coll. Brug. 1923.

It is called a) properly; for lax conscience is often said improperly for the habitual disposition which inclines to more lax judgments and to having a lax conscience;

b) doubts, suspects, or probably thinks: for if it judges certainly, then it now becomes a conscience simply erroneous, although this could have arisen from preceding laxity;

c) on account of light reasons that an evil act is not evil...: this is its proper object by which it is distinguished from every other positively doubtful and probable conscience, indeed also from a scrupulous conscience;

d) an act here and now to be placed: thus it is distinguished from a consequent lax conscience which judges an act placed.

II. Lax conscience is threefold: a) simply such, which leans on an opinion slightly or doubtfully probable, or applies more benign reflex principles too frequently and wrongly; it arises from defect of attention, rather often voluntary, and from lightness of soul;

b) cauterized, I Tim. IV, 2, which makes even very grave sins nothing and reputes evil as good without any remorse, Is. V, 20, and arises from gross ignorance and a long-lasting habit of sinning. For thus, from perverse morals, the moral sense can be obscured so that man does not abhor even grave sins, but drinks iniquity like water, Job XV, 16. This conscience is opposed at once to the fearful and the scrupulous, so that the fearful conscience holds the middle between the cauterized and the scrupulous.

c) pharisaic, so called from the Pharisees straining out a gnat but swallowing a camel. This makes great things, e.g., duties of state, internal things, things of the natural law, small, and makes small things, e.g., works of supererogation, external things, things of positive law, great, Mt. XXIII, 24. It often arises from malice, and is opposed at once to the tender and the narrow conscience, so that the tender mediates between the pharisaic and the narrow.

III. The conjectural signs by which a lax conscience is discerned and its difference from a scrupulous conscience are enumerated by Lacroix, Th. M. l., n. 526, from Stoz, Tribunal Poenitentiae, n. 223:

1. He is lax who spurns and holds as nothing those things which others commonly think are sins; but he who fears those things which others hold as nothing is scrupulous.

2. He who generally does not believe preachers and confessors, but judges their reproofs to be immoderate exaggerations, is lax; but he who does not believe confessors or other learned and upright men excusing the fact is scrupulous.

3. He who, trusting in his own judgment, is accustomed to proceed with no one consulted, is lax; but he who, even in clear matters, or concerning which he has elsewhere received a resolution, asks again and again, wishing through this to render himself more secure, is scrupulous.

4. He who in confessing is in no way solicitous about expressing the species or number of sins is lax; but he who confesses all things doubtfully and hesitantly, repeating the same thing rather often, saying now this number, now that number, or a different circumstance, and never satisfies himself, is scrupulous.

5. He who precipitately and without any consideration does whatever, is lax; but he who proceeds so hesitantly in all things that he does not trust the common doctrine of theologians, but always seeks evidences and demonstrations, is scrupulous.

6. He who quickly and vaguely hurries through any prayers, interrupts them without cause, looks around while praying, or talks, is lax; but he who prays anxiously, rather often stops in order to have attention, repeats the same things, is scrupulous; and so concerning other matters.

From these things it follows that a lax conscience is found even among the pious, at least in light matter, e.g., if they make certain light sins nothing, or act precipitately and without consideration in whatever they do, or are accustomed to proceed trusting in their own judgment with no one consulted, etc., cf. the things said under 1, 3, and 5.

Specifically, in confession a penitent is to be judged of lax conscience if there is discerned:

a) an evidently insufficient accusation, such as ordinarily exists among those who on the occasion of annual confession say that they have committed no evil, neither theft nor homicide, or confess only a few distractions in praying, or even certain similar things;

b) absence of remorse of conscience and delay of confession until some external circumstance as if compels one to confess;

c) defect of all sorrow concerning the sins declared, as among those who seem rather to defend their sins than accuse them, who distracted and insensible hear the exhortations of the confessor, who by certain little reasonings try to persuade themselves that God is too good to condemn to hell for omission of Mass or for meats eaten.

But if by these or other signs set forth above the confessor recognizes a lax conscience: 1) he cannot simply trust such a lax penitent who recognizes himself guilty of no grave sin, but by suitable questions, as far as possible, let greater integrity of confession be procured; 2) where he accuses himself doubtfully concerning consent, he is to be presumed to have consented, otherwise he would not doubt but would be certain that he did not consent, or he would in no way remember; 3) above all, contrition is to be inculcated to him.

IV. Several causes of lax conscience are enumerated, which on the part of the intellect are reduced to vincible ignorance, and on the part of the appetite to perversity of will. For the most part they are:

1. depraved or neutral education, which is unequal to establishing the difference of good and evil and inculcating the true sense of obligation; and familiarity with vicious persons, to whose morals we become accustomed and with whose sentiments we are joined;

2. defect of consideration and counsel in ordering the moral life, whence by use, in an external and mechanical manner, good works are done rather than from love of good and hatred of evil;

3. a soft life which enervates the soul and causes lightness of soul, or defect of moral discipline in the will, which is acquired only through the practice of mortification and self-denial;

4. vehement inordinate passions, especially in youth, by which reason is obscured and easily judges licit what we desire too much, e.g., anger, ambition, cupidity, empty glory, sensual pleasure, especially lust, by which it happens that the animal man does not perceive the things which are of the Spirit of God. Thus, for example, motions of anger seem nothing other than pious indignation, unbridled ambition nothing other than noble emulation, avarice is held as legitimate providence, commercial frauds are judged a display of industry, pleasure an honorable or necessary recreation, etc.;

5. excessive solicitude for temporal things, which makes us earthly, in mature age;

6. life immersed for a long time in vices, or the custom of sinning;

7. presumptuous confidence in God, from which arises neglect of prayer, examination of conscience, confession, which altogether casts down the soul and leaves it fasting from spiritual food;

8. tepidity of soul.

V. The effects of a lax conscience are: a) in the intellect: blindness of mind, dullness of sense, foolishness or blind tranquility after sin;

b) in the will: hardness of heart or insensibility to pious admonitions, so that scarcely by any means can it be moved;

c) mockery of pious exercises;

d) obduration in evil and final impenitence, Rom. II, 5.

VI. A lax conscience is not a rule of acting prudently, but is to be put aside: a) because it is uncertain; b) moreover it arises from rashness or ignorance which is voluntary, or at least cannot remain involuntary while the doubt arising on account of light reasons is seriously examined; c) besides, it is dangerous and is accustomed to have harmful effects, because it casts the soul into the broad way which leads to perdition, Mt. VII, 13, whence ordinarily it increases the danger of sinning mortally or of persevering in sin; and therefore, other things equal, even more than a scrupulous conscience, it is to be guarded against and amended.

But if it is not put aside, the agent sins in that species and gravity of sin which he knows himself to commit or to the danger of which he exposes himself, as theologians teach concerning conscience vincibly erroneous and uncertain; and indeed he sins as often as at least confusedly he adverts the insufficiency of the reasons on which he leans and voluntarily neglects to apply means apt for forming a right conscience, and thus exposes himself to the danger of sinning. - Indeed he can sin gravely even in a light matter, if his rashness, with any dictate whatever omitted or contemned, impels him to acting, so actually disposed that, if he adverted the action to be gravely evil, he would nevertheless place it.

VII. Remedies. - A lax conscience is to be put aside by true faith and purification of heart, profession and exercise of true religion. Hence the remedies are the study of reflection or greater consideration, and the attack upon tepidity; in species:

1. a spiritual retreat for some days, by which the soul may be vacant to God and to itself, Hos. II, 41;

2. daily discussion of conscience concerning the acts of the present day, Is. XLVI, 8;

3. devout and assiduous prayer and meditation on the last things, Eccli. VII, 40, and frequent reading of pious books;

4. diligent confession after sin, lest the soul harden in sin, and inquiry concerning means from the confessor;

5. removal of causes, e.g., flight from the wicked and conversation with the good, Prov. XIII, 20.

Specifically a) habitually let the lax person beware of his first estimation concerning the morality of his acts, so that he resists his own laxity and learns to rectify his conscience;

b) when doubt has arisen concerning the liceity or gravity of an action to be placed, let him not spurn it as empty, but diligently examine;

c) while doubt stands concerning the gravity of an action placed, let him not approach Holy Communion unless he has confessed.

But if he seriously strives to amend his conscience, with great patience and meekness he is to be animated to confidence and perseverance; and if he relapses, sometimes he will be excused from grave offense on account of precipitation in acting, in which case he will have to be exhorted to greater vigilance, that he may proceed more cautiously and learn also to avoid this.

VIII. Warning. - According to the principles set forth above, the confessor must instruct and admonish the penitent who labors under a lax conscience: 1) if such a conscience, as often happens, is vincible and gravely culpable; 2) even outside grave fault, if fruit from the admonition is hoped; 3) even if fruit is not hoped, while it is harmful either to the penitent, who, with laxity growing heavier, could suffer total extinction of the moral sense, or to others, because it would cause notable scandal of the neighbor or public evil.