But it does not always tell us just what we ought to do. We recognise that conscience is subjective and individualistic. It tells us that we ought to do what we think is right. All sorts of outrages have been wrought in the name of conscience. It needs education, guidance, correction.
Love is just the same.
In view of the undirective nature of love and the difficulty of determining appropriate love-action in given situations, the guidance of collective wisdom, the tradition of Church and culture, the guidance of specific values and precedents must be taken seriously and not easily set aside in the way that situation ethics appears to be ready to set them aside in the last resort. It denies an independent validity to values other than love. Love issues in honesty, truthfulness, purity, respect for life, justice, etc. It overarches and undergirds these. But it also stands alongside of these values.