Vatican issues new document on threats to human dignity

Apr 19, 2024

By Salvatore Cernuzio
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) has published a new declaration on human dignity, stating the Church’s current position on such issues as euthanasia, surrogate motherhood, and gender identity.

The new text, which is called Dignitas Infinita (infinite dignity), was unveiled to the public on April 8 by its main author, Cardinal Victor Fernandez, the DDF prefect. The 20-page document, which includes four pages of end notes, was approved by Pope Francis. The new declaration is essentially an updated version of the Catholic social teaching regarding contemporary threats to human dignity.

Dignity, which has been a central concept in the Church's social doctrine for over half a century, is described by the new DDF declaration as having four dimensions: ontological dignity (by the mere fact of existing and being willed by God); moral dignity (linked to the exercise of human freedom); social dignity (linked to living conditions); and, finally, existential dignity (linked to the individual’s perception of their own dignity).

“Dignified” life and “undignified” life
While this structuring is commonly used by moral theologians, it’s the first time it’s been used, in a magisterial text. The expression “existential dignity” had never before appeared in a document of this level.

“(This) is the type of dignity implied in the ever-increasing discussion about a ‘dignified’ life and one that is ‘not dignified’,” says Dignitatis Infinita. “For instance, while some people may appear to lack nothing essential for life, for various reasons, they may still struggle to live with peace, joy, and hope,” the declaration points out.

“Human dignity is a central issue in Christian thought,” Cardinal Fernandez emphasised during his first press conference since taking up his post at the Vatican last September. The Argentine theologian justified developments in the magisterium by citing the example of two popes from some 500 years ago. He noted that Nicholas V (pope, 1447-1455) had encouraged slavery, while Paul III (pope, 1534-1549) ordered that those who engaged in the practice be excommunicated. “This is an example that shows how the Church’s understanding of truth evolves,” said the 61-year-old cardinal.

He also pointed out that Pope Francis was heavily involved in the drafting of Dignitatis Infinita, which the theologians from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith began developing in 2019. Fernandez found the project on his desk when he arrived at the Vatican, and last November the Pope asked him to have the DDF theologians revisit the project to integrate themes developed during his pontificate. Five months later, the result is a document that identifies thirteen areas where human dignity is subject to “grave violations”.

Themes drawn from Francis’ pontificate
At the forefront of the declaration are the themes requested by the Pope, such as sexual abuse, the plight of migrants, war, and human trafficking. The document deplores the “destructive effects of the empire of money” and the “expansion of poverty”, while also emphasising the importance of considering migrants as human persons.

Quoting the Jesuit Pope’s encyclical Fratelli Tutti, the new DDF document declares that welcoming migrants “is an important and meaningful way of defending ‘the inalienable dignity of each human person regardless of origin, race or religion’”. Regarding violence against women, it also asserts that “one cannot condemn enough the phenomenon of femicide”.

The document repeats previously stated positions on some of the issues. For instance, it is reaffirmed – with the support of texts from John Paul II – that “the Church’s magisterium has always spoken out against abortion”, as well as against euthanasia, or assisted suicide.

“[It] must be strongly reiterated that suffering does not cause the sick to lose their dignity, which is intrinsically and inalienably their own,” the document says.

No such thing as a “right to a child”
Dignitas Infinita also addresses new questions, particularly the issue of surrogate motherhood, which is discussed for the first time in a magisterial document. The new DDF declaration argues that “the immensely worthy child becomes a mere object” in the practice of surrogacy, which undermines “the dignity of the child” and the mother, as well. “[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,” the declaration says.

It also delves into “digital violence”, calling it the “dark side of digital progress”.

“Consider, for example, how easy it is through these means to endanger a person’s good name with fake news and slander,” the document says, warning against the potential dangers of the “digital world”, seen as a space “of loneliness, manipulation, exploitation, and violence, even to the extreme case of the ‘dark web’”.

Allowing room for discussion
Gender theory is another theme that the Vatican’s doctrinal office addresses for the first time in a major document. “Desiring a personal self-determination, as gender theory prescribes, apart from this fundamental truth that human life is a gift, amounts to a concession to the age-old temptation to make oneself God, entering into competition with the true God of love revealed to us in the Gospel,” states Dignitatis Infinita.

Thus, the Church calls for “respect for both one’s own body and that of others”, and regards “sex change” as a threat to the "unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception".

While these condemnations were somewhat expected, they also allow room for discussion on certain issues. For the first time, a magisterial document speaks out against the criminalisation of homosexual persons.

“[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 declaration says. But it does not go as far as to call for a universal ban on the criminalisation of homosexuality, which is still practiced in many countries, especially in Africa where it is supported by some bishops.

During the press conference to unveil the new DDF document, Cardinal Fernandez said “it’s painful” that there are Catholics who defend these “unjust” laws. He said he recently read a text from some Church members who applauded the adoption of laws against homosexuals in their country.

“I thought I was going to die when I read that Catholics, who hold such a concept of human dignity, could think such a thing. Obviously, we favour the decriminalisation (of homosexuality),” he added.

Regarding “sex-change intervention”, the document says that, “as a rule”, it “risks threatening the unique dignity of the person”. But it acknowledges that this would not necessarily be the case for “a person with genital abnormalities that are already evident at birth or that develop later”. This is a testament to the pastoral approach of the Pope, who regularly meets with groups of transgender people.--Vatican News