Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 8, 2024 / 09:15 am (CNA).
The Vatican’s top doctrinal office issued a declaration on the theme of human dignity on Monday that addresses growing concerns such as gender theory, sex changes, surrogacy, and euthanasia in addition to abortion, poverty, human trafficking, and war.
“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,” reads the Vatican declaration issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The declaration, titled Dignitas Infinita, which means “infinite dignity,” states that the Church highlights these concerns “with hope, confident of the power that flows from the risen Christ, who has fully revealed the integral dignity of every man and woman.”
Abortion, euthanasia, and surrogacy
In the declaration, the dicastery cautions against threats to human dignity that begin at the moment of conception, that exist in the process of procreation, and that threaten humanity toward the end of life.
The declaration cites St. John Paul II’s encyclical Evangelium Vitae on abortion, noting that the pontiff taught that “procured abortion is the deliberate and direct killing, by whatever means it is carried out, of a human being in the initial phase of his or her existence, extending from conception to birth.”
According to Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, also cited in the declaration, preborn children are “the most defenseless and innocent among us” and in the present day, “efforts are made to deny them their human dignity and to do with them whatever one pleases, taking their lives and passing laws preventing anyone from standing in the way of this.”
The declaration also warns that euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are “swiftly gaining ground” in some parts of the world, which it says is “unique in how it utilizes a mistaken understanding of human dignity to turn the concept of dignity against life itself.”
“Even in its sorrowful state, human life carries a dignity that must always be upheld, that can never be lost, and that calls for unconditional respect,” the declaration states. “Indeed, there are no circumstances under which human life would cease from being dignified and could, as a result, be put to an end.”
The practice of surrogacy is another concern noted by the document, noting that “the immensely worthy child becomes a mere object” in the process.
“Because of this unalienable dignity, the child has the right to have a fully human (and not artificially induced) origin and to receive the gift of a life that manifests both the dignity of the giver and that of the receiver,” the declaration adds.
“Moreover, acknowledging the dignity of the human person also entails recognizing every dimension of the dignity of the conjugal union and of human procreation. Considering this, the legitimate desire to have a child cannot be transformed into a ‘right to a child’ that fails to respect the dignity of that child as the recipient of the gift of life.”
Gender theory and sex changes
As many Western nations continue to promote gender ideology and debate whether minors should be able to access transgender drugs and surgeries, the Vatican states that the ideology “intends to deny the greatest possible difference that exists between living beings: sexual difference.”
The declaration emphasizes that “all attempts to obscure reference to the ineliminable sexual difference between man and woman are to be rejected” and that “only by acknowledging and accepting this difference in reciprocity can each person fully discover themselves, their dignity, and their identity.”
A human body, the Vatican notes, also shares in the dignity of the image of God, and people are called to accept and respect the body as it was created: “the body participates in that dignity as it is endowed with personal meanings, particularly in its sexed condition.”
“Any sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception,” the Vatican adds.
To respect human dignity, the declaration also condemns unjust discrimination, aggression, and violence directed toward individuals based on sexual orientation.
“It should be denounced as contrary to human dignity the fact that, in some places, not a few people are imprisoned, tortured, and even deprived of the good of life solely because of their sexual orientation,” the Vatican states.
If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!
Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
The declaration says: “Any sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception,”
A skeptic responds: A sex change intervention RISKS threatening…. A risk implies a chance, a probability, a non-certainty. A ‘risk’ to dignity does not equate to definite threat. A risk of threat, assault, injustice, or an offense of sin is not a certain threat, assault, sin or injustice. A temptation to sin does not per se equal sin. Equivalent language is ambiguous speech. A confused person will remain confused and will interpret as he will.
The declaration declares: “the body participates in that dignity as it is endowed with personal meanings, particularly in its sexed condition.”
A skeptic responds: Man is free and at liberty to endow his God-given dignity with PERSONAL meaning, particularly regarding its sex. A personal meaning may well be a disordered.
The declaration offers to God and to man some ambiguous, confused, and disordered teaching. Typical Bergoglio and typical Tucho. Jesus taught us to attend to yes and to no. ~Matthew 5:37
May God have mercy.
And of course there’s no such thing as a “sex change.”
Today our Lord’s Annunciation to Mary contrasts to the darkness eclipsing her son as multitudes turn away from worship of the true God, once and forever revealed in the Son. Today the sun is darkened. Today the declaration Dignitatis Infinita was issued by the Vatican DDF, a work five years in the making that clearly condemns gender affirming surgery, surrogacy, gender theory, abortion. Life from conception to death is deemed sacred. What’s omitted is contraception.
All depends on how this document is processed and observed by the Vatican and Cardinal Fernández prefect of the DDF. We’ve had reaffirmations of doctrine prior to today that unfortunately remained orations that were made flexible and in effect neutralized. Dignitatis Infinita is not, should not be as AP reports a “Vatican Blast” against, rather the document is a reaffirmation. At this moment since the Annunciation of Our Lord to Mary and the World, what is made clear in words, including a required reaffirmation by this pontificate of Humanae vitae, must be affirmed by action.
You’re an extremely perceptive and thoughtful man Father. I haven’t read the document yet, but I am not surprised to read the comment above yours by Meiron that points out at least one critical ambiguity. There are probably more.
Not surprising that there is a lack of moral imagination to associate the contraceptive culture with modern assaults on dignity. I hope you might identify more faults, presuming there are.
Edward, they’re defining human dignity as a form of inherent, indelible virtue, whereas the virtues [here the cardinal] justice, prudence, fortitude, temperance are acquired. The theological virtues faith, hope, and charity are the work of grace.
Human dignity is best understood as a potency given to Man that must be realized. As are the inherent principles of Natural Law, we have to live them. Whereas a person who lives in sin, who rejects their sexual identity in favor of same sex relations diminishes their dignity.
At this stage, it would seem that any document now coming from the CDF has little moral authority, no matter how serious the subject or how official (authoritative) the exposition.
Yes. The silence on Humanae Vitae, here and pretty much everywhere, is telling.
We ask what is human dignity. Man is created in God’s image, and with that he possesses a specific dignity from the moment of conception. The USCCB adopts the definition given by Christopher Kaczor:
“When we speak of ‘human dignity’ what do we mean? The core meaning of the term ‘human dignity’ is that every human being, from the very beginning of his or her life to the end of his or her life, has inherent worth and value”.
That inherent value is also subject to realization in our respect for human life, and significantly as realized in the manner we live our life. A life of virtue as opposed to a life of sin.
I’ll go with Robert Royal, TCT, Apr. 9.