I asked Joe above to define 'always' as used again in gnu's post --

"As always, conscience is the final arbiter"

but was not entirely persuaded by his reply.

Was it so at the height of the activities of the Holy Office, aka The Inquisition? If so, many would question some of the 'conscientious' decisions reached, and ask why the victims' doubtless sincere pleas of having followed their 'consciences' in what were then deemed heresies did not prevail.

But if this 'always' hadn't started then [which, despite Joe's adducement of Aquinas, the above phenomena might appear to suggest], what are we to extrapolate from 'always'? Or, if it had, then what effect or significance can we attribute to the actual perpetual operation of the 'conscience'?

~M~