By George Nchumbonga Lekelefac, PhD.c. B.Phil. (Mexico); S.T.B. (Rome); J.C.L./M.C.L. (Ottawa); Doctorandus, University of Münster, Germany; International Advocate for the Oppressed, Voice of the Voiceless, Defender of Fundamental Human Rights, Canon Lawyer/Jurist, Friend to the Vulnerable, and Enemy of Every Oppressor/Tyrant
Motto: “Not merely to recount what has been, but to share in molding what should be.” — Prof. Dr. Bernard Nsokika Fonlon, Editor of the Cameroon Cultural Review, Abbia (1960–1980)
Introduction
During a meeting on Wednesday, 8 July 2026, the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, declared that “Good Conscience is defined by the State.” He instructed leaders of Jehovah’s Witnesses to respect the National Anthem, state institutions, and public policies, citing Romans 13:1-7 and the principle “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.” While legitimate authority deserves respect (auctoritas legitima reverenda est), the Minister’s assertion represents a dangerous reductionism that subordinates the inviolable dignity of human conscience to state power. This claim must be firmly rebutted ratione philosophica et theologica (by philosophical and theological reason).
1. Philosophical Perspective: The Primacy of Conscience
The idea that the state defines good conscience contradicts the classical philosophical tradition. For St. Thomas Aquinas, conscience is the dictamen rationis (dictate of reason) — an act of practical reason that applies universal moral principles to concrete situations (Summa Theologiae, I-II, q. 19, a. 5). The state does not create the natural moral law; it is bound to recognise and protect it. Aquinas insists that an erroneous conscience, when invincibly formed, still binds the person (Summa Theologiae, I-II, q. 19, a. 5-6). Conscientia semper est sequenda (Conscience must always be followed).
St. John Henry Newman, doctor of the Catholic Church in his Letter to the Duke of Norfolk (1875), famously declared: “Conscience is the aboriginal Vicar of Christ, a prophet in its informations, a monarch in its peremptoriness, a priest in its blessings and anathemas” (p. 250).
Newman warned against any power — including the state — that seeks to usurp the throne of conscience. To claim that the state defines good conscience is to revive the errors of Hobbes (Leviathan, 1651), who reduced morality to the will of the sovereign, a position rightly rejected by the Enlightenment and Christian thought alike.
Immanuel Kant further reinforces this: the moral law is autonomous. In his Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785), he writes that the categorical imperative arises from practical reason, not from external authority (4:433-434). A state that claims to define conscience becomes tyrannical, transforming citizens into mere subjects rather than moral agents. Lex aeterna non est lex humana (The eternal law is not the human law).
2. Theological Perspective: Scripture, Tradition, and Magisterium
The Bible does not support the absolutisation of state authority over conscience. While Romans 13:1-7 calls for submission to legitimate authority, this is never absolute. The same Apostle who wrote Romans defied the authorities when they commanded him to act against his conscience (Acts 4:19-20): “We must obey God rather than men.” Oboedire oportet Deo magis quam hominibus (We must obey God rather than men).
Acts 5:29 remains the foundational principle: obedience to God has primacy. Jesus Himself challenged unjust religious and civil authorities while respecting legitimate order (cf. Mt 22:21). The early martyrs — from St. Thomas More to St. Maximilian Kolbe — refused to let the state define their conscience, choosing death rather than betrayal of truth. Martyres conscientiae (Martyrs of conscience).
The Magisterium is unequivocal. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1776-1777) teaches that conscience is “a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognises the moral quality of a concrete act” and must be obeyed, even when erroneous, provided it is sincere. Vatican II’s Dignitatis Humanae (Declaration on Religious Freedom) affirms: “In all his activity a man is bound to follow his conscience in order that he may come to God, the end and purpose of life. It follows that he is not to be forced to act in a manner contrary to his conscience” (DH 3).
Pope Benedict XVI, in his address to the Bundestag (2011), warned that when the state claims to define morality, it risks totalitarianism. Pope Francis has repeatedly defended the right to conscientious objection, particularly in matters of life, faith, and human dignity.
3. Application to the Current Case
The Minister’s demand that Jehovah’s Witnesses sing the National Anthem and accept certain health policies, under threat of “the heavy arm of the law,” risks violating the principle of religious freedom. While the state has the right to regulate public order (bonum commune), it cannot coerce internal acts of conscience (forum internum). Forcing religious communities to act against their sincerely held beliefs — especially when these do not directly threaten public safety — constitutes an overreach of state power. Potestas civilis non est absoluta (Civil power is not absolute).
True patriotism and good citizenship are not measured by ritual compliance but by moral integrity. As Prof. Bernard Fonlon wrote, the highest service to the nation is the formation of persons of conscience, not conformists (The Genuine Intellectual, 1978, p. 87).
Conclusion: Conscience Above the State
Minister Atanga Nji’s assertion that “Good Conscience is defined by the State” is philosophically flawed, theologically untenable, and politically dangerous. The state exists to serve the common good and protect fundamental rights — including the right to act according to a well-formed conscience — not to replace God as the ultimate moral authority.
As St. Thomas Aquinas powerfully reminds us: “Human law is law only by virtue of its accordance with right reason, and by this means it is clear that it flows from the eternal law. [...] If a human law is at variance with the natural law, it is no longer a law but a corruption of law” (Summa Theologiae, I-II, q. 95, a. 2). Lex humana non est lex nisi secundum rationem rectam (Human law is not law unless according to right reason).
Cameroon, and every nation, will flourish not through coerced uniformity, but through the formation of citizens who possess recta ratio (right reason) and a conscientia recta (right conscience). Let the state protect freedom of conscience rather than seek to define it. Fiat iustitia et pereat mundus (Let justice be done though the world perish) — but never at the expense of the inviolable sanctuary of conscience.
And believe me to be, most unpretentiously, most reverentially, most prayerfully and most dutifully yours.
Nchumbonga George Lekelefac, B.Phil. (Mexico); S.T.B. (Rome); J.C.L./M.C.L. (Ottawa), Diploma in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, and Dutch; Advocate for the Oppressed; Voice of the Voiceless; Defender of the Defenseless and of Fundamental Human Rights; International Language Tutor of English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and German; Doctorandus, University of Münster, Germany; Europe/ US Chief Correspondent of “The Sun Newspaper” in Cameroon; The “Herald Tribune” in Cameroon; and “The Horizon Newspaper” in Cameroon; Catholic Media Influencer and Whistle blower; Canon Law Lawyer/Jurist and Researcher; Veteran Contributor on Social Media on Theological and Canonical Enlightenment and Arguments; Founder/ CEO of the “Nchumbonga Lekelefac Institute of Research, Documentation, Language and Culture, USA;” Canon Law Jurist/lawyer of the International League for the Defense of Priests’ Rights, Religious men and women of the Roman Catholic Church (LIDDPRRECR), Paris-France and Representative in North and South America; Member of the Canadian Canon Law Society, Ottawa, Canada; Biographer of Bishop Jerome Feudjio, 6th Diocesan Bishop of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands and First African Native Bishop in the United States of America from Cameroon, Africa.
My Signature: Nchumbonga George Lekelefac
Email: nchumbong@yahoo.com