HUMAN DIGNITY

CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHINGS

At stake is the dignity of the

Human Person, whose defense
and promotion have been
entrusted to us by the
Creator.
St. John Paul II, Solicitus Rei Socialis

The basis for the theme of

HUMAN DIGNITY, the bedrock
of Catholic Social Teaching, is
that HUMANS were created in
the image and likeness of God.

Regardless

of any factors
or reasons we can think of,
individuals have an
inherent and
immeasurable worth and
dignity; each human life is
considered sacred.

The

principle of Human
Dignity means that
Catholic Social Teaching
takes a strong position on
issues around the start
and end of life.

For, by His Incarnation, He, the

Son of God in a certain way
united Himself with each
man.
Vatican II

Catholic Social Teaching believes that

human beings, created in the image
and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27),
have their very existence an inherent
value, worth and distinction. This
means that God is present in every
person, regardless of his/her race,
nation, sex, origin, orientation,
culture, or economic standing.

THE UNITY OF THE HUMAN

PERSON
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

SOUL + BODY
=MAN

MATERIALISM: The mans physical

stomach is full, that would be all
that matters.
SPIRITUALISM: The mans soul is
contented, that would be all that
counts.

The unity of the human person

postulates that both his body and soul
are duly attended to and cared for as a
whole- as a unity.
In other words, the soul with its spirit,
the intellect, with free will plus the body
(with its health and well being as
promoted by food and drink, clothing
and housing)- all said realities should be
attended to, considering that they are
constituent features of every single
human person.

The human person is

sui subsistenssubsisting by itself- with
the composite of both
human body and spirit.

The spiritual and immortal

soul is the principle of the
unity of the human being
whereby it exists as a whole,
as one human person.

The whole being is comprised

of BODY and SOUL.
Human nature then, is a
spirit-filled organic entity.

HUMAN NATURE is CONSCIOUS

SPIRITUAL EXISTENCE
In sacred scripture, the term soul
often refers to human person. But
soul also refers to the innermost
aspect of man, that by which he is
most especially in Gods image: soul
signifies the spiritual principle in man
(Catechism, no. 363).

The body is SPIRITUALIZED MATERIAL

ENTITY precisely because it is animated
by a spiritual soul: Man, though made
of body and souls, is (an integrated)
unity. Through his very bodily condition,
he sumps up in himself the elements of
the material world. Through him, they
are thus brought to their highest
perfections and can raise their voice in
praise given freely to the Creator. For
this reason, man may not despise his
bodily life,.

THE TRANSCENDENT
DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN
PERSON
-+O.V. Cruz, JCD
-St. John Paul II

TWO CHARACTERISTICS
One is corporal and the
other is transcendental
which is definitely absent in
brute animals-and so in all
beings on earth, be they
living or still.

These two characteristics

are precisely what
constitute the unity of the
human person. Take away
one thereof, and there is
no human person to talk
about, to look after.

When using the term the dignity of

the human person, Pope John Paull
II adds the word transcendent.
-it means beyond or exceeding
such as beyond the limits of all
possible experience and
knowledge, beyond comprehension
or exceeding usual limits.

His transcendence in particular

are what makes it attentive to
and concerned not only with
finite realities but also with
infinite truths.

Human person is not only open to the

fullness of being but also the
unlimited horizon of being.
The human person has in itself the
ability to transcend individual particular
objects establishing its openness to
unlimited being, its capacity and
disposition to go and reach out beyond
itself-the opposite of which is selfcenteredness which is closed to
everything else outside itself.

Let us rejoice and give thanks: We

have not only become Christians, but
Christ himselfStand in awe and
rejoice: we have become Christ.
-St. Augustine

We are tempted to join with Mary

in her Magnificat the Lord has
done great things for me.

UNIQUENESS OF
THE HUMAN
PERSON

Human person is unique, singular

and unrepeatable.
FIRST, every human person is
someone whose categorical
particulars are definite and
defining of itself alone such that
they are not shared with any other
person.

SECOND, that a human

person is one and alone in
its constitution and
consequent being so that
there it has no duplicate of
any kind or any carbon
copy.

THIRD, that a human

person consumers its own
self-identity in the sense
that there can be nothing
exactly like it.

Every human person is

wherefore intrinsically
invaluable- for its
singularity, among other
major reasons.

Man as an I capable of
self- understanding, selfpossession and selfadministration.

 In

fact, it is not intellect,

consciousness and freedom
that define the human
person, rather it is the human
person who is the basis of the
acts of intellect,
consciousness and freedom.

RESPECT FOR
HUMAN
DIGNITY

 A just society can

become a reality only
when it is based on the
respect of the
transcendental dignity of
the human person.

The human person

represents the ultimate end
of society which is ordered
to the person.

1. The right, proper and just

order of realities is that
everything must be made
subordinate to man- definitely
not the other way aroundconsidering that everything
should serve the needs of man
and promote his welfare.
Otherwise, man is ultimately
abused.

2. The temporal order, its given

nature and existence plus
progressive development,
should be categorically
intended for the good of man,
should serve his well-being- not
the other way around.
Otherwise, man becomes but a
used instrument, an abused
means.

3. The standard norm of action is

that it is necessary that every
human person relates with and
treats other persons as itself
more specifically in terms of the
invaluable nature of human life,
its continuity and dignity.
Otherwise, the human person
itself becomes inhuman.

4. The nature and finality of

politics and economy, of scientific
findings and cultural
advancements, together with
socio-economic progress, must be
ultimately inspired by and ordered
to the primacy of the human
person. Otherwise, the human
person could become but a mere
cog in a wheel.

5. The human person is such in

dignity and transcendence that
the same may not be manipulated
for ends that are either contrary
to its dignity and/or foreign to its
own development. Otherwise, this
would be but not only using but
also abusing man.

6. The human person may not

be subjected to restrictions
when exercising precisely his
rights and living his freedomunless social peace and order
are jeopardized by its wrongful
way of living and acting.
Otherwise, such would not be
undermining the dignity of man.

7. The human person may not

be merely used much less
even abused for carrying out
economic and/or political
projects for either for the
present or the future.
Otherwise, man would become
but a means, not their end.