The Dignity of Pope Francis
Last year, the Vatican issued a “Declaration of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith “Dignitas Infinita” on Human Dignity, 08.04.2024,” known as the Declaration “Dignitas Infinita” on Human Dignity.[1]
The Presentation of the Declaration issued by the Holy See’s Press Office described its development and explained that “The five-year course of the text’s preparation helps us to understand that the document before us reflects the gravity and centrality of the theme of dignity in Christian thought. The text required a considerable process of maturation to arrive at the final version that we have published today.” It further explained that “This Declaration does not set out to exhaust such a rich and crucial subject. Instead, its aim is to offer some points for reflection that can help us maintain an awareness of human dignity amid the complex historical moment in which we are living. This is so that we may not lose our way and open ourselves up to more wounds and profound sufferings amid the numerous concerns and anxieties of our time.”
The Declaration as a whole addresses with some granularity the meaning of dignity in Christian history and thought and its application to specific issues. What follows are excerpts from the Declaration as it relates particularly to the meaning of dignity and its importance in this particularly complex and trying time in world history.
Introduction
1. (Dignitas infinita) Every human person possesses an infinite dignity, inalienably grounded in his or her very being, which prevails in and beyond every circumstance, state, or situation the person may ever encounter. This principle, which is fully recognizable even by reason alone, underlies the primacy of the human person and the protection of human rights.
2. This ontological dignity and the unique and eminent value of every man and woman in the world was reaffirmed authoritatively in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, issued by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948. As we commemorate the 75th anniversary of that document, the Church sees an opportunity to proclaim anew its conviction that all human beings—created by God and redeemed by Christ—must be recognized and treated with respect and love due to their inalienable dignity.
6. From the start of his pontificate, Pope Francis has invited the Church to “believe in a Father who loves all men and women with an infinite love, realizing that ‘he thereby confers upon them an infinite dignity.’” He has strongly emphasized that such immense dignity is an original datum (something given) that is to be acknowledged faithfully and welcomed with gratitude. Based on this recognition and acceptance of human dignity, a new coexistence among people can be established that develops social relationships in the context of authentic fraternity. Indeed, only by “acknowledging the dignity of each human person” can we “contribute to the rebirth of a universal aspiration to fraternity.” .… From this perspective, Pope Francis’ encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, constitutes a kind of “Magna Carta” of our contemporary tasks to protect and promote human dignity.
A Fundamental Clarification
7. There is widespread agreement today on the importance and normative scope of human dignity and on the unique and transcendent value of every human being. However, the phrase “the dignity of the human person” risks lending itself to a variety of interpretations that can yield potential ambiguities and “contradictions that lead us to wonder whether the equal dignity of all human beings […] is truly recognized, respected, protected and promoted in every situation.” This brings us to recognize the possibility of a fourfold distinction of the concept of dignity: ontological dignity, moral dignity, social dignity, and existential dignity. The most important among these is the ontological dignity that belongs to the person as such simply because he or she exists and is willed, created, and loved by God. Ontological dignity is indelible and remains valid beyond any circumstances in which the person may find themselves….
1. A Growing Awareness of the Centrality of Human Dignity
10. Already in classical antiquity, an intuition about human dignity emerged from a social perspective that viewed each person as invested with a particular dignity based on their rank and status within an established order. From its origins in the social sphere, the word “dignity” then was used to describe the differentiated dignity of beings in the cosmos. In this view, all beings possess their own “dignity” according to their place within the harmony of the whole. Some high points of ancient thought did begin to acknowledge a unique place for humans as beings endowed with reason, able to take responsibility for themselves and others in the world. Nevertheless, a way of thinking that would be able to ground our respect for the dignity of every human person in every circumstance was still a long way away.
3. Dignity, the Foundation of Human Rights and Duties
23. As Pope Francis has recalled, “In modern culture, the closest reference to the principle of the inalienable dignity of the person is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Saint John Paul II defined as a ‘milestone on the long and difficult path of the human race,’ and as ‘one of the highest expressions of the human conscience.’” To resist attempts to alter or annul the profound meaning of that Declaration, it is worth recalling some essential principles that must always be honored.”
Unconditional Respect for Human Dignity
24. …The Church insists that the dignity of every human person, precisely because it is intrinsic, remains “in all circumstances.” The recognition of this dignity cannot be contingent upon a judgment about the person’s ability to understand and act freely; otherwise, it would not be inherent in the person, independent of the individual’s situation, and thus deserving unconditional respect. Only by recognizing an intrinsic and inalienable dignity in every human being can we guarantee a secure and inviolable foundation for that quality. Without any ontological grounding, the recognition of human dignity would vacillate at the mercy of varying and arbitrary judgments. The only prerequisite for speaking about the dignity inherent in the person is their membership in the human species, whereby “the rights of the person are the rights of man.”
25. Second, the concept of human dignity is also occasionally misused to justify an arbitrary proliferation of new rights, many of which are at odds with those originally defined and often are set in opposition to the fundamental right to life. It is as if the ability to express and realize every individual preference or subjective desire should be guaranteed. This perspective identifies dignity with an isolated and individualistic freedom that claims to impose particular subjective desires and propensities as “rights” to be guaranteed and funded by the community. However, human dignity cannot be based on merely individualistic standards, nor can it be identified with the psychophysical well-being of the individual. Rather, the defense of human dignity is based on the constitutive demands of human nature, which do not depend on individual arbitrariness or social recognition. Therefore, the duties that stem from recognizing the dignity of the other and the corresponding rights that flow from it have a concrete and objective content based on our shared human nature. Without such an objective basis, the concept of dignity becomes de facto subject to the most diverse forms of arbitrariness and power interests.
The Relational Structure of the Human Person
26. Viewed through the lens of the relational character of the person, human dignity helps to overcome the narrow perspective of a self-referential and individualistic freedom that claims to create its own values regardless of the objective norms of the good and of our relationship with other living beings. Indeed, there is an ever-growing risk of reducing human dignity to the ability to determine one’s identity and future independently of others, without regard for one’s membership in the human community. In this flawed understanding of freedom, the mutual recognition of duties and rights that enable us to care for each other becomes impossible. In fact, as Pope St. John Paul II recalled, freedom is placed “at the service of the person and of his fulfillment through the gift of self and openness to others; but when freedom is made absolute in an individualistic way, it is emptied of its original content, and its very meaning and dignity are contradicted.”
27. Human dignity also encompasses the capacity, inherent in human nature, to assume obligations vis-à-vis others.
28. The difference between humans and all other living beings, which stands out thanks to the concept of dignity, should not lead us to forget the goodness of other creatures. Those beings exist not only for human utility but also possess a value of their own; they are like gifts entrusted to humanity to be cherished and cultivated. Thus, while the concept of dignity is reserved for the human being, at the same time, the creaturely goodness of the rest of the cosmos must be affirmed. As Pope Francis points out, “By virtue of our unique dignity and our gift of intelligence, we are called to respect creation and its inherent laws […], ‘Each creature possesses its own particular goodness and perfection…Each of the various creatures, willed in its own being, reflects in its own way a ray of God’s infinite wisdom and goodness. Man must therefore respect the particular goodness of every creature, to avoid any disordered use of things.’” Furthermore, “today we see ourselves forced to realize that it is only possible to sustain a ‘situated anthropocentrism.’ To recognize, in other words, that human life is incomprehensible and unsustainable without other creatures.” In this perspective, “it is not a matter of indifference to us that so many species are disappearing and that the climate crisis endangers the life of many other beings.”[45] Indeed, it belongs to human beings’ dignity to care for the environment, taking particular account of the human ecology that preserves their very existence.
4. Some Grave Violations of Human Dignity
33. In light of the previous reflections on the centrality of human dignity, the final section of this Declaration addresses some specific and grave violations of that dignity. It does so in the spirit proper to the Church’s magisterium, which has found full expression in the teaching of the recent Pontiffs, as mentioned previously. For example, Pope Francis, on the one hand, tirelessly reminds us of the need to respect human dignity: “Every human being has the right to live with dignity and to develop integrally; this fundamental right cannot be denied by any country. People have this right even if they are unproductive or were born with or developed limitations. This does not detract from their great dignity as human persons, a dignity based not on circumstances but on the intrinsic worth of their being. Unless this basic principle is upheld, there will be no future either for fraternity or for the survival of humanity.”
[The Declaration proceeds to “draw attention to some grave violations of human dignity that are particularly relevant” including “the drama of poverty, war, the travail of migrants, human trafficking, digital violence, and others.]
Conclusion
63. On the 75th anniversary of the promulgation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), Pope Francis reaffirmed that this document “is like a master plan, from which many steps have been taken, but many still need to be made, and unfortunately, at times, steps backward have been taken. The commitment to human rights is never finished! In this regard, I am near to all those who, without fanfare, in concrete daily life, fight and personally pay the price for defending the rights of those who do not count.”
64. In this spirit, the Church, with the present Declaration, ardently urges that respect for the dignity of the human person beyond all circumstances be placed at the center of the commitment to the common good and at the center of every legal system. Indeed, respect for the dignity of each person is the indispensable basis for the existence of any society that claims to be founded on just law and not on the force of power. Acknowledging human dignity forms the basis for upholding fundamental human rights, which precede and ground all civic coexistence.
65. Each individual and also every human community is responsible for the concrete and actual realization of human dignity. Meanwhile, it is incumbent on States not only to protect human dignity but also to guarantee the conditions necessary for it to flourish in the integral promotion of the human person: “In political activity, we should remember that ‘appearances notwithstanding, every person is immensely holy and deserves our love and dedication.’”
[1] https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2024/04/08/240408c.html