The situation in Rowan County, Ky., is a difficult one, to say the least. The law of the land is that same-sex couples can be issued civil marriage licenses. County clerk Kim Davis, a born-again Christian, refused to comply with the civil law by issuing these licenses to same-sex partners, citing that it would cause her to violate her conscience as a Christian. She was sent to jail, a martyr-hero to some and a homophobe bigot to others.

The Independent, a British newspaper, reporting on this story, interviewed Harry Mihet, a lawyer for the Christian group Liberty Counsel that is representing Davis, who is arguing that the U.S. Constitution did allow exceptions on matters of personal faith and that Davis was not opposed to other members of the Rowan County office issuing permits if she was not involved. At the moment, however, the permits bore her name.

Mihet said: “She did not ask for this,” he told The Independent. “Exceptions can be made. Doctors at government hospitals are not required to carry out abortions if they do not agree with them. The prison warden who is opposed to the death penalty is not required to pull the lever or turn on the electric chair.”

Davis is attempting to follow her conscience. What is conscience and what does it mean for a Christian to follow their conscience? It’s essential that we begin to understand conscience from our Catholic perspective, especially in light of these recent cultural shifts and legal decisions.

Conscience is a natural, human facility of our reason that reminds us always of St. Thomas Aquinas’ basic moral axiom, namely, “do good and avoid evil. The conscience helps us make a judgment concerning the right and wrong, the good and the evil of particular choices in each distinct instance and finally, enables us after the fact to understand the good or evil that we have done. Conscience is not in itself the source of the moral law, but rather uses the unique principles of the moral law to objectively judge good and evil actions.

Therefore, every Christian has the obligation to properly form his or her conscience, learning the moral law as presented to us from the two fonts of Divine Revelation, Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, as well as in the magisterial teachings of the Church.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that the Christian is under the obligation to always follow his or her conscience; however, that conscience must never be in contradiction to the objective moral teachings of the Lord and the Church. St. John Paul II described conscience as an “inner dialogue” which takes place interiorly in each individual, allowing him or her to hear and listen to the voice of God.

Kim Davis followed her conscience. As an Evangelical Christian, were she to personally issue these licenses and have her name on them when issued, she would be going against what she believed is right and true. We as Catholic Christians should pray for her, as well as the judges involved in the case and yes, the same-sex couples who were refused their licenses. We pray that each and every person is treated with dignity and respect, even when we disagree with their life choices. Davis is a Christian woman who obviously has discerned that her refusal to comply with the law of the land is just and right. Pray for the judges to respect the religious liberty and freedom of conscience of all involved, and pray that we ­– when we are faced with decisions like this, and no doubt each of us, in one way or the other will – we can always follow our properly formed Christian conscience.