Dignity of the Human Person

Human Dignity: The Cornerstone of Catholic Social Teaching

Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness;” – Genesis 1:26

Scripture makes it clear that each and every person is made in the image and likeness of God. This radical claim is the source of our belief in the inherent and inviolable dignity of the human person. The dignity of the human person is the cornerstone of all Catholic social teaching.

Being made in God’s image, we are all God’s children. This is true no matter where we are born and no matter what our economic or social status. As you read this, there are seven billion living and breathing unique images of God on the face of the Earth. You are one of them.

Because it comes from God, human dignity is not something that we can bestow or take away from another person. It is intrinsic to our existence. What we can do is enter into relationships that respect our mutual human dignity. When respect for human dignity forms the basis of our relationships, God’s divine nature shines forth in a true communion of persons.

Too often we fail to do this. Too often we de-humanize our brothers and sisters or shut our ears when they cry out. Failure to recognize the human dignity of each and every person opens the door to all manner of violence and injustice. But how can we truly make human dignity the cornerstone of our relationships?

This question is especially pertinent when we reflect on our relationships with people we may never meet; people who suffer in the far corners of the world and whose names we do not know. Although we may never meet, we still share the same planet and its gifts. These gifts are not simply for our own personal use but are entrusted to us by God for the flourishing of our human family. We are increasingly aware that our actions in one part of the world can affect people who live far away from us. We are interconnected. We are in relationship with all seven billion of God’s children.

“Being in the image of God the human individual possesses the dignity of a person, who is not just something, but someone.” – Catechism of the Catholic Church, #357

Catholic social teaching can serve as the guidepost that helps us to enter into relationships that respect human dignity. Solidarity, the option for the poor, care for creation, economic justice, and the common good are examples of values that are vital to any society built upon the dignity of the human person.

Catholic social teaching guides our relationship with the world. It frames vision so that we can understand that we are not patrons to the poor, we are partners with them. This vision of partnership is rooted in the recognition of our common human dignity.  A framework that helps us recognize the human dignity of the poor as equal to our own requires us to respect their freedom. This freedom includes their right to choose what development means for them. The poor must always be seen as subjects and not objects of development.

“Human dignity rests above all on the fact that humanity is called to communion with God. The
invitation to converse with God is addressed to men and women as soon as they are born. For if
people exist it is because God has created them through love, and through love continues to
keep them in existence. They cannot live fully in the truth unless they freely acknowledge that
love and entrust themselves to their creator.” - Gaudium et Spes (“The Church in the Modern
World”), #19.

Excerpted from Development and Peace - https://www.devp.org/en/legacy/human-dignity-cornerstone-catholic-social-teaching/