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.’”[: Francis, General Audience (12 August 2020): L’Osservatore Romano (13 August 2020), 8; quoting John Paul II, Address to the United Nations General Assembly (2 October 1979), 7 and Id., Address to the United Nations General Assembly (5 October 1995), 2.] 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. First, while there has been a growing awareness of human dignity, many misunderstandings of the concept still distort its meaning. Some people propose that it is better to use the expression “personal dignity” (and the rights “of the person”) instead of “human dignity” (and the rights “of man”) since they understand a “person” to be only “one who is capable of reasoning.” They then argue that dignity and rights are deduced from the individual’s capacity for knowledge and freedom, which not all humans possess. Thus, according to them, the unborn child would not have personal dignity, nor would the older person who is dependent upon others, nor would an individual with mental disabilities.[: Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction Dignitas Personae (8 September 2008), no. 8: AAS 100 (2008), 863-864.] On the contrary, 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.”[: International Theological Commission, Religious Freedom for the Good of All (2019), no. 38.]
An Objective Basis for Human Freedom
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.[: Cf. Francis, Address to Members of the Diplomatic Corps Accredited to the Holy See for the Presentation of New Year’s Greetings (8 January 2024): L’Osservatore Romano (8 January 2024), 3.] 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.”[: John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Evangelium Vitae (25 March 1995), no. 19: AAS 87 (1995), 422.]
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.’”[: Francis, Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ (24 May 2015), no. 69: AAS 107 (2015), 875; quoting Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 339.] 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.”[: Francis, Apostolic Exhortation Laudate Deum (4 October 2023), no. 67: L’Osservatore Romano (4 October 2023), IV.] 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.”[: Ibid., no. 63: L’Osservatore Romano (4 October 2023), IV.] Indeed, it belongs to human beings’ dignity to care for the environment, taking particular account of the human ecology that preserves their very existence.
Freeing the Human Person from Negative Influences in the Moral and Social Spheres
29. These fundamental prerequisites, however necessary, are not enough to guarantee a person’s growth consistent with his or her dignity. While “God created man a rational being, conferring on him the dignity of a person who can initiate and control his own actions,”[: Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1730.] with a view to the good, our free will often prefers evil over good. Thus, human freedom, in its turn, needs to be freed. In his letter to the Galatians, St. Paul affirms that “for freedom, Christ has set us free” (Gal. 5:1), recalling the task proper to each Christian, on whose shoulders rests a responsibility for liberation that extends to the whole world (cf. Rom. 8:19ff). This is a liberation that, starting from the hearts of individual people, is called to spread and manifest its humanizing power across all relationships.
30. Freedom is a marvelous gift from God. Even when God draws us to him with his grace, he does so in a way that never violates our freedom. Thus, it would be a grave error to think that by distancing ourselves from God and his assistance, we could somehow be freer and thus feel more dignified. Instead, detached from the Creator, our freedom can only weaken and become obscured. The same happens if freedom imagines itself to be independent of any external reference and perceives any relationship with a prior truth as a threat; as a result, respect for the freedom and dignity of others would also diminish. As Pope Benedict XVI explained, “A will which believes itself radically incapable of seeking truth and goodness has no objective reasons or motives for acting save those imposed by its fleeting and contingent interests; it does not have an ‘identity’ to safeguard and build up through truly free and conscious decisions. As a result, it cannot demand respect from other ‘wills,’ which are themselves detached from their own deepest being and thus capable of imposing other ‘reasons’ or, for that matter, no ‘reason’ at all. The illusion that moral relativism provides the key for peaceful coexistence is actually the origin of divisions and the denial of the dignity of human beings.”[: Benedict XVI, Message for the Celebration of the 44th World Day of Peace (1 January 2011), no. 3: Insegnamenti VI/2 (2011), 979.]
31. Moreover, it would be unrealistic to posit an abstract freedom devoid of any influence, context, or limitation. Instead, “the proper exercise of personal freedom requires specific conditions of an economic, social, juridic, political and cultural order,”[: Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 137.] which often remain unfulfilled. In this sense, we can say that some individuals enjoy more “freedom” than others. Pope Francis has given special attention to this point: “Some people are born into economically stable families, receive a fine education, grow up well nourished, or naturally possess great talent. They will certainly not need a proactive state; they need only claim their freedom. Yet, the same rule clearly does not apply to a disabled person, to someone born in dire poverty, to those lacking a good education and with little access to adequate health care. If a society is governed primarily by the criteria of market freedom and efficiency, there is no place for such persons, and fraternity will remain just another vague ideal.”[: Francis, Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti (3 October 2020), no. 109: AAS 112 (2020), 1006.] Therefore, it is crucial to understand that “removing injustices promotes human freedom and dignity”[: Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 137.] at every level of human endeavor. To enable authentic freedom, “we must put human dignity back at the center and, on that pillar, build the alternative social structures we need.”[: Francis, Address to Participants in the World Meeting of Popular Movements (28 October 2014): AAS 106 (2014), 858.] Similarly, freedom is frequently obscured by a variety of psychological, historical, social, educational, and cultural influences. Real and historical freedom always needs to be “liberated.” One must, moreover, reaffirm the fundamental right to religious freedom.
32. At the same time, human history shows clear progress in understanding human dignity and freedom, albeit not without shadows and risks of regression. Such advancement in understanding human dignity is demonstrated by the fact that there is an increasing desire to eradicate racism, slavery, and the marginalization of women, children, the sick, and people with disabilities. This aspiration has been bolstered under the influence of the Christian faith, which continues to be a ferment, even in increasingly secularized societies. However, the arduous journey of advancing human dignity remains far from completion.
