Podcast Summary: The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)

Episode: Day 234: Freedom and Responsibility (2025)
Date: August 22, 2025
Host: Fr. Mike Schmitz
Main Catechism Text: Paragraphs 1730–1738

1. Overview of the Episode

Theme:
This episode focuses on the Catholic understanding of human freedom and the responsibility that comes with it. Fr. Mike Schmitz guides listeners through Catechism paragraphs 1730–1738, unpacking how freedom is a gift from God deeply rooted in our reason and will, and how it carries the weight of responsibility for our actions—both good and bad. The discussion explores what true freedom is, when and how we’re responsible for our actions, and the implications of our choices in relation to God and others.

2. Key Discussion Points & Insights

a. The Gift of Freedom

• Freedom as a Mark of Human Dignity:

  • God created human beings with the capacity for rational thought and free will, allowing us to initiate and control our actions. This confers a unique dignity and the potential to seek and find our Creator freely ([03:35]).

• The True Meaning of Freedom:

  • Fr. Mike emphasizes:

    “Freedom is not simply the ability to do whatever you want, but freedom is the power to do what is right, right? The power to do what you ought. That that is true freedom.” ([09:38])

  • Our freedom is not for self-indulgence, but a capacity to choose the good, binding us closer to God.

b. Freedom and Responsibility

• Responsibility Follows Freedom:

  • With the capacity to choose comes the responsibility for those choices, whether good or evil ([01:45]).
  • Directly willed actions are attributable to the doer; indirect responsibility can also arise from negligence or ignorance ([14:25]).

• Growth and Maturity Through Freedom:

  • Freedom is meant to help us grow in truth and goodness, reaching its perfection when directed toward God, our ultimate Beatitude ([10:34]).

• A Notable Catechism Phrase:

  • Fr. Mike points out:

    “By free will, one shapes one's own life.”
    He unpacks how choices in youth shape who we become as adults ("the child is the father of the man") ([10:54]).

c. Addressing Common Questions

• Is There Freedom in Heaven?
  • Fr. Mike addresses the question:

    If we can’t sin in heaven, does that mean we’re no longer free?

  • He explains that in heaven, freedom is perfected, because

    “Freedom is not the ability to do whatever I want. Freedom is the power to do what I ought… to know right and wrong and to say: I choose the right every single time. That is true freedom.” ([12:18])

  • In heaven, our will is fully and joyfully aligned with God’s, leading to perfect freedom—not less.

d. The Possibility and Abuse of Freedom

• Sin as the Misuse of Freedom:

  • Rejecting the good is an abuse of freedom, leading to the “slavery of sin.”

    “There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just.” ([13:00])

• Progress in Virtue Increases Freedom:

  • The more we do what is good, the freer we become; sin restricts our freedom ([13:18]).

e. Imputability and Diminished Responsibility

• Factors That Affect Responsibility:

  • Things like ignorance, duress, fear, habit, and psychological or social factors can diminish or even eliminate responsibility for actions ([15:45]).
  • Fr. Mike summarizes: We’re only fully culpable when we know and freely choose the act ([16:20]).

• Indirect Responsibility Example:

  • Negligence, such as not knowing traffic laws and causing an accident, still incurs indirect responsibility ([16:42]).

• Unintended Consequences:

  • A person trying to save someone and dying in the process isn’t culpable for their own death—it wasn’t willed as either a means or an end ([17:38]).
  • However, a foreseeable and preventable action, like manslaughter from drunk driving, is fully imputable ([18:20]).

f. Freedom in Relationship

• Every human person has a right to be recognized as free and responsible, a right civil authority must respect within the limits of the common good ([19:38]).

3. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Defining Power of Free Will:

  “By free will, one shapes one's own life.” ([10:54])
  — Catechism text, highlighted with passion by Fr. Mike.

• On Heaven and Freedom:

  “In heaven, you’re completely free... just completely free to be constantly choosing God, the true, the good and the beautiful, to love each other and to love the Lord as we’re supposed to.” ([13:58])

• On Responsibility and Knowledge:

  “Always, in order for someone to be culpable, they need to have knowledge and free will, right? I need to know the thing and I need to freely choose to do the thing.” ([18:54])

• Personal Touch:

  • Fr. Mike’s excitement shines throughout:

    “I don’t know if you guys got jazzed up by that, but I definitely did... I just got all riled up about this and I just wanted to go nuts.” ([21:20])
    He often reminds listeners of the practical weight of these teachings for everyday examinations of conscience ([19:42]).

4. Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:05] - Episode introduction and framing the topic
• [03:35] - Reading Catechism paragraphs 1730–1738
• [09:38] - Defining freedom: “the power to do what I ought”
• [10:54] - “By free will, one shapes one's own life” and life-shaping choices
• [12:18] - The question of freedom in heaven—freedom perfected
• [13:00–14:10] - True freedom vs. slavery of sin, virtue’s role
• [15:45] - Conditions that diminish responsibility (culpability, imputability)
• [16:42] - Indirectly willed actions: example of negligence
• [17:38] - Imputability when bad effects are not willed
• [18:20] - Example: Manslaughter by drunk driving
• [18:54] - Summary of knowledge and will as conditions for culpability
• [19:38] - The right to freedom in social and civil contexts
• [19:42] - Practical advice for examining conscience
• [21:20] - Fr. Mike’s concluding words and personal enthusiasm

5. Tone and Style

The episode maintains Fr. Mike’s hallmark energy—enthusiastic, approachable, and sincere. He mixes catechetical depth with relatable language and a touch of humor (e.g., “particle” vs. article, [01:18]), making complex theological concepts both memorable and accessible.

6. Final Takeaways

• Freedom is the power—rooted in intellect and will—to truly choose the good, which is perfected when oriented toward God.
• Responsibility for our actions is proportionate to our knowledge and freedom in choosing them.
• True freedom increases with virtue and is not diminished, but perfected, in heaven.
• Every act willed in freedom carries moral weight—praiseworthy or blameworthy—depending on knowledge and intent.

Fr. Mike’s encouragement: Regularly examine your actions with these principles. Did you know? Did you freely choose? “If we’re going to exercise our freedom, we also have to be willing to take responsibility.” ([21:00])