Efforts to apply a 2024 Vatican document on human dignity to an American context and its “a radical emphasis on individual autonomy” are underway within three committees of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The U.S. bishops heard Nov. 13 at their fall plenary assembly about resources offered by their committees on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth; Pro-Life Activities; and Catholic Education in relation to the document “Dignitas Infinita.”
“Dignitas Infinita” (“Infinite Dignity”), released April 8 by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, provides an account of the scriptural and traditional basis for the Catholic Church’s understanding of human dignity as inherent, coming from every human person’s creation “in the image and likeness of God” and redemption in Christ.
“In the United States, a radical emphasis on individual autonomy at the expense of relationship characterizes the ways in which human dignity is often violated,” said Bishop Robert E. Barron, chair of the committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth, about the importance of the document and its impact on the work of the three committees.
“What I’ve called the ‘culture of self-invention’ results in what the declaration calls ‘a concession to the age-old temptation to make oneself God,'” added the bishop, who heads the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minn.
He said the committees “agreed on the need to highlight the teachings of the declaration in our respective resources” with “the goal of applying the lessons of ‘Dignitas Infinita’ to our American society so that the church can more effectively proclaim” that “the person created in the image of God is a being at once corporeal and spiritual, and is fulfilled in its vocation to divine beatitude in Jesus Christ.”
He quoted the observation in “Dignitas Infinita” that gender theory “intends to deny the greatest possible difference that exists between living beings: sexual difference. This foundational difference is not only the greatest imaginable difference but is also the most beautiful and most powerful of them. In the male-female couple, this difference achieves the most marvelous of reciprocities. It thus becomes the source of that miracle that never ceases to surprise us: the arrival of new human beings in the world.”
“This ideology” of gender theory, the document continues, “envisages a society without sexual differences, thereby eliminating the anthropological basis of the family.”
He highlighted his committee’s offering of formation on lovemeansmore.org that addresses a wide array of topics on the nature of love and the human person. He also noted that the “Love Means More” initiative will be offering toolkits to the bishops on the topic of gender theory.
During a discussion period, Bishop Barron said that society needs the document’s “bold” and “distinctive Catholic voice.”
“We have been too apologetic for too long,” he added. “And we shouldn’t be cowed by the celebrities and so on in the culture who are preaching something that’s deeply problematic.”
He said the spike in depression and mental health problems in young people is coming from “a loss of moral mooring.”
Bishop Thomas A. Daly of Spokane, Washington, chair of the Committee on Catholic Education, emphasized the importance of Catholic educators having a sound understanding of the dignity of the human person.
He highlighted the book “The Holy See’s Teaching on Catholic Schools” by Archbishop J. Michael Miller of Vancouver, British Columbia, where he called for imparting a “Catholic imagination” or worldview — rooted in the truth of the Incarnation — to young people through education.
“We want our young people to understand that the Incarnation of Jesus Christ changed everything,” Bishop Daly said, “and that the church’s social justice teaching is rooted in the nature and dignity of the human person, the desire to serve the poor and those on the margins as an expression of love for the person of Jesus whose image they bear.”
“We want our students to view the church’s teaching on sexuality as an expression of this deeper understanding of the human person,” he said, “and not simply just a set of rules to stand in opposition to our popular culture.”
He said the bishops welcome “Dignitas Infinita” at a time when they are seeing an “increasing confusion” from young people and “the concept of identity, particularly gender identity and sexual orientation seems to be at the forefront of these cultural issues.”
Bishop Daly stressed that a fruitful dialogue cannot be had on these issues with students if the bishops and leadership at Catholic schools “do not understand our identity.”
Catholic schools’ curriculum, he said, should “reveal an integration of knowledge and the understanding that all knowledge — theological, mathematical, literary and so on — ultimately coheres in Jesus Christ who is both the teacher and the heart of the curriculum of our Catholic school.”
Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Va., outgoing chair of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-life Activities, expressed gratitude for the “incredibly timely” nature of “Dignitas Infinita.”
While grateful for the three recent pro-life victories in state abortion ballot measures, he observed that “sadly, many states continue to enshrine abortion in their state constitutions,” in reference to the states that did so in the recent general election.
“We know that we still have so much work to do in protecting the unborn, safeguarding the sacredness of all human life and the dignity that belongs to every person as a child of God,” he said. “Our work is not only to change laws, but to change hearts, to change minds, to inspire and to inform.” He said “Dignitas Infinita” helps the bishops to carry out that work.
He noted Pope Francis’ words in the document that unborn children are “the most defenseless and innocent among us. Nowadays, 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.”
He highlighted his committee’s offering of bulletin inserts and prayers on a wide array of topics covered in “Dignitas Infinita” including the death penalty, care for people with disabilities, surrogacy and in vitro fertilization.
He also encouraged bishops to explore the national pastoral ministries of Project Rachel, which offers counseling and healing to parents suffering grief after an abortion, and Walking with Moms in Need, a parish-based effort to offer resources to pregnant and parenting mothers in need.
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