The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) released on Monday a new document addressing human dignity, reaffirming the traditional teaching of the Church that not only condemns abortion, sex-change surgery, gender ideology and surrogate maternity as contrary to human dignity, but also adds social justice issues to the list of “equally important” themes for Catholic doctrine.
The declaration Dignitas Infinita on Human Dignity (DI) commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and reaffirms “the indispensability of the concept of dignity of the human person within Christian anthropology.”
The document clearly restates Catholic doctrine opposing abortion and euthanasia.
It explains that surrogacy “violates the dignity of the woman, whether she is coerced into it or chooses to subject herself to it freely.”
Regarding euthanasia and assisted suicide, it reiterates that “suffering does not cause the sick to lose their dignity, which is intrinsically and inalienably their own.”
DI also addresses gender theory and criticizes how it “intends to deny the greatest possible difference that exists between living beings: sexual difference.”
“This foundational difference is not only the greatest imaginable difference but is also the most beautiful and most powerful of them. In the male-female couple, this difference achieves the most marvelous of reciprocities,” the document continues.
“Only by acknowledging and accepting this difference in reciprocity can each person fully discover themselves, their dignity, and their identity.”
In its discussion of sex changes, DI states: “it is in the body that each person recognizes himself or herself as generated by others, and it is through their bodies that men and women can establish a loving relationship capable of generating other persons.”
According to the document, this is why Pope Francis has affirmed that “creation is prior to us and must be received as a gift.
“At the same time, we are called to protect our humanity, and this means, in the first place, accepting it and respecting it as it was created,” DI adds.
Except for the opening proposal, which embraces the approach that issues of different moral gravity are still “interconnected,” there are no doctrinal novelties.
Every controversial issue is addressed with quotes from the magisterium.
The Prefect of the DDF, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, agreed with one of the journalists during the press conference that the text is mostly a “collection of quotes.”
In the introduction, DI justifies its publication by explaining the need to reassert the Catholic teaching regarding human dignity, since “history illustrates how individuals—when exercising their freedom against the law of love revealed by the Gospel—can commit inestimably profound acts of evil against others.”
The introduction is followed by four parts:
1. “A Growing Awareness of the Centrality of Human Dignity” makes the theological case that “dignity is intrinsic to the person” and that “all human beings possess this same intrinsic dignity, regardless of whether or not they can express it in a suitable manner.”
2. “The Church Proclaims, Promotes, and Guarantees Human Dignity” argues how, according to Catholic tradition and theology, “faith plays a decisive role in helping reason perceive human dignity and in accepting, consolidating, and clarifying its essential features.”
3. “Dignity, the Foundation of Human Rights and Duties” explains that although there is significant advancement in human rights issues in the world, “the arduous journey of advancing human dignity remains far from completion.”
4. “Some Grave Violations of Human Dignity” is the longest part of the document and attempts “an updated list” of issues that affect human dignity.
“While not claiming to be exhaustive,” the document warns, “the following paragraphs draw attention to some grave violations of human dignity that are particularly relevant.”
The issues to which a paragraph is dedicated are these, in the order they are presented:
- The Drama of Poverty
- War
- The Travail of Migrants
- Human Trafficking
- Sexual Abuse
- Violence Against Women
- Abortion
- Surrogacy
- Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide
- The Marginalization of People with Disabilities
- Gender Theory
- Sex Change
- Digital Violence
In all these issues, Catholic doctrine is reaffirmed with quotations mostly from Pope Francis’ magisterium.
“Even today, in the face of so many violations of human dignity that seriously threaten the future of the human family, the Church encourages the promotion of the dignity of every human person, regardless of their physical, mental, cultural, social, and religious characteristics,” DI states in its short conclusion.
