Freedom: With freedom comes responsibility. We are responsible for our moral behaviour because we are made in God's image as rational beings, capable of knowing what is the morally right and good thing to do, and as free beings, capable of choosing to do the morally right and good thing. These two capacities, to know and to choose, together form what is called conscience. In talking about moral decision making it is important to clarify what is meant by freedom. The Second Vatican Council reminds us that “freedom is an exceptional sign of the image of God in humanity” (Gaudium et Spes, 17). Our freedom to make choices about moral issues is part of what makes us like God. God wants us to make these choices and to embrace our moral responsibility and to grow and mature in our moral wisdom, because in so doing we are able to live whole-heartedly. In the light of this, it is helpful to note with O'Neil and Black (2003, p.58), that freedom can be understood in two senses: 'freedom from' and 'freedom for'. When we talk about freedom in the sense of 'freedom from', we are talking about freedom from limitations that prevent us from doing what we want. It is the limitless freedom that is often associated with individualistic cultures and the belief that you have a right to whatever you want. More positively, however, this 'freedom from' can be understood as freedom from those limitations that prevent us from fulfilling our vocation to live whole-heartedly. For example, if you lived in a society in which you were persecuted for your race or your sex or your religious beliefs, this would limit your freedom. But there is also a richer aspect of freedom in what can be termed 'freedom for'. This is not simply about being free to choose to do whatever we like. Rather, it is about being able to make choices that might seem like limits on our freedom in order to direct our lives to what is truly good, towards a destiny centred on God. From a Catholic perspective, given that human beings are free, meaning seeking and meaning making, we are faced with a choice about how we engage in those relationships with all of creation in light of the kind of beings we want to be. What do we want our lives to mean? This meaning will be realized through the moral choices we make in and through our relationships with others, with the natural world, and with God. Whole-hearted living is possible. Human flourishing is possible. At the core is the question “What do you stand for?” The Catholic perspective is one that stands for love and life and justice for all.