50 Golden Quotes On Human Dignity

50 Golden Quotes On Human Dignity

Fr.Charles Irudayam

Preface

The principle of Human Dignity is the fi rst and foundational principle of the Catholic Social Teaching. Human dignity originates from God and is of God because we are made in God’s own image and likeness. It is an intrinsic quality that can never be separated from other essential aspects of the human person.

In today’s world we notice that more than half of the world’s population is being denied the right to live in dignity enshrined in the very fi rst article of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. Hence CBCI Offi ce for Justice, Peace and Development attempts to give the readers 50 Golden Quotes on Human

Dignity carefully selected from the Catholic Social Teaching in view of eliciting a commitment from the readers to safeguard the dignity of all.

I hope that the readers of this handbook will be rightly motivated to defend the dignity and the rights of the poor and the marginalised in the society.

In Solidarity,

Rev. Dr. Charles Irudayam

SecretaryCBCI Offi ce for Justice, Peace and Development

The human being and his/her dignity are pillars on which to build shared rules and structures that, overcoming pragmatism or the mere technical data are capable of eliminating divisions and of more than satisfying the existing differences. (Pope Francis’ Address to the Participants in the 38th Session of FAO, June 20, 2013)

The Church does not propose economic and political systems or programs, nor does she show preference for one or the other, provided that human dignity is properly respected and promoted. (Pope John Paul II, On Social Concern, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, no. 41)

Social Justice can be obtained only in respecting the transcendent dignity of man. The person represents the ultimate end of society, which is ordered to him. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1929)

The Church respects the legitimate autonomy of the democratic order and is not entitled to express preferences for this or that institutional or constitutional solution. Her contribution to the political order is precisely her vision of the dignity of the person revealed in all its fullness in the mystery of the Incarnate Word, [Jesus Christ]. (Pope John Paul II, On the Hundredth Anniversary of Rerum Novarum, Centesimus Annus, no. 47)

We believe that the Christian view of life, including economic life, can transform the lives of individuals, families, schools, and our whole culture. We believe that with your prayers, refl ection, service, and action, our economy can be shaped so that human dignity prospers and the human person is served. (US Catholic Bishops, Economic Justice for All, no. 28)

Every threat to human dignity and life must necessarily be felt in the Church’s heart; it cannot but effect her at the core of her faith in the Redemptive Incarnation of the Son of God, and engage her in her mission of proclaiming the Gospel of Life in all the world and to every creature. (Pope John Paul II, The Gospel of Life, Evangelium Vitae, no. 3)

Whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children; as well as disgraceful working conditions, where humans are treated as mere tools for profi t, rather than as free and responsible persons; all these things and others of their like are infamies indeed. They poison human society, but they do more harm to those who practice them than those who suffer from the injury. (Second Vatican Council, The Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, no. 27)

Any human society, if it is to be well-ordered and productive, must lay down as a foundation this principle, namely, that every human being is a person, that is, his/her nature is endowed with intelligence and free will. Indeed, precisely because s/he is a person, s/he has rights and obligations fl owing directly and simultaneously from her/his very nature. (Pope John XXIII, Peace on Earth, Pacem in Terris, no. 9)

Wherefore, whatever the progress in technology and economic life, there can be neither justice nor peace in the world, so long as people fail to realize how great is their dignity; for they have been created by God and are God’s children. (Pope John XXIII, On Christianity and Social Progress, Mater et Magister, no. 215)

The human person is the clearest refl ection of God’s presence in the world; all of the Church’s work in pursuit of both justice and peace is designed to protect and promote the dignity of every person. (US Catholic Bishops, The Challenge of Peace, no. 15)

The economic independence of women is vital for upholding the rights of women and maintaining their dignity. (Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, Gender Policy of the Catholic Church of India, p. 21)

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Every perspective on economic life that is human, moral, and Christian must be shaped by three questions: What does the economy do for people? What does it do to people? And how do people participate in it? (US Catholic Bishops, Economic Justice for All, no. 1)

Love of neighbour is an absolute demand for justice, because charity must manifest itself in actions and structures which respect human dignity, protect human rights, and facilitate human development. To promote justice is to transform structures which block love. (Synod of Bishops in 1971, Justice in the World)

Since all men possess a rational soul and are created in God’s likeness, since they have the same nature and origin, have been redeemed by Christ and enjoy the same divine calling and destiny, the basic equality of all must receive increasingly greater recognition. (Second Vatican Council, The Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, no. 29)

Respect for the human person proceeds by way of respect for the principle that everyone should look upon his neighbour (without any exception) as another self, above all bearing in mind his life and the means necessary for living it with dignity. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1931)

The defence and promotion of the human person’s dignity have been entrusted to us by the Creator, and to whom the men and women at every moment of history are strictly and responsibly in debt. As many people are already more or less clearly aware, the present situation does not seem to correspond to this dignity. (Pope John Paul II, On Social Concern, Solicitudo Rei Socialis, no. 47)

The duty to respect the dignity of each human being, in whose nature the image of the Creator is refl ected, means in consequence that the person cannot be disposed of at will. Those with greater political, technical, or economic power may not use that power to violate the rights of others who are less fortunate. Peace is based on respect for the rights of all. (Pope Benedict XVI, in his Message for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace, 1 January 2007)

It is only natural for people who participate in the Eucharist to be concerned about everyone’s human dignity. Precisely because of the mystery we celebrate [in the Eucharist], we must denounce situations contrary to human dignity, since Christ shed his blood for all. (Pope Benedict XVI, The Apostolic exhortation on the Eucharist, Sacramentum Caritatis)

In fact, men cannot by nature be superior to others, since all enjoy an equal natural dignity. From this it follows that countries too do not differ at all from one another in the dignity which they derive from nature. Individual states are like a body whose members are human beings. (Pope John XXIII, Peace on Earth, Pacem in Terris, no. 89)

Everyone must consider their every neighbour without exception as another self, taking into account fi rst of all his or her life and the means necessary to living it with dignity, so as not to imitate the rich man who had no concern for the poor man Lazarus. (Second Vatican Council, The Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, no. 27)

The roots of human rights are to be found in the dignity that belongs to each human being. (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 153)

A prime example [of intrinsically evil actions] is the intentional taking of innocent human life, as in abortion and euthanasia Direct threats to the sanctity and dignity of human life, such as human cloning and destructive research on human embryos, are also intrinsically evil. These must always be opposed. Other direct assaults on innocent human life and violations of human dignity, such as genocide, torture, racism, and the targeting of non-combatants in acts of terror or war, can never be justifi ed. (US Catholic Bishops, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States, No. 22, 23, November 2007)

Man has been given a sublime dignity, based on the intimate bond which unites him to his Creator: in man there shines forth a refl ection of God himself. (Pope John Paul II, The Gospel of Life, Evangelium Vitae, no. 34)

Life, especially human life, belongs to God; whoever attacks human life attacks God’s very self. (Pope John Paul II, The Gospel of Life, Evangelium Vitae, no. 9)

Any politics of human dignity must seriously address issues of racism, poverty, hunger, employment, education, housing and health care.... the failure to protect and defend life in its most vulnerable stages renders suspect any claims to the ‘rightness’ of positions in other matters affecting the poorest and least powerful of the human community. (US Catholic Bishops, Living the Gospel of Life, no. 23)

The formation of consecrated women and seminarians must therefore work towards creating men and women who are committed to the establishment of a ‘new heaven and a new earth’ where women and men live and work with mutual respect and dignity. (Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, Gender Policy of the Catholic Church of India, p. 35) C

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We believe that every human life is sacred from conception to natural death; that people are more important than things; and that the measure of every institution is whether or not it enhances the life and dignity of the human person. (Administrative Board of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Faithful Citizenship: Civic Responsibility for a New Millennium, September 1999, p. 13)

There is a growing awareness of the exalted dignity proper to the human person, since he or she stands above all things, and his or her rights and duties are universal and inviolable. Therefore, there must be made available to all people everything necessary for leading a life truly human, such as food, clothing, and shelter; the right to choose a state of life freely and to found a family, the right to education, to employment, to a good reputation, to respect, to appropriate information, to activity in accord with the upright norm of one’s own conscience, to protection of privacy and rightful freedom even in matters religious. (Second Vatican Council, The Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, no. 26)

Only through an encounter with God are we able to see in the other something more than just another creature, to recognise the divine image in the other, thus truly coming to discover him or her and to mature in a love that ‘becomes concern and care for the other. (Pope Benedict XVI, Charity in Truth, Caritas in Veritate, no. 11)

Convinced that all human beings are created in the image and likeness of the divine and have equal dignity, Christian communicators engage themselves promoting human dignity and human rights, more especially of the marginalized and neglected sections of the society. (Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, Offi ce of Social Communication, Bishops’ Meet, 1999)

All and each are redeemed by Jesus Christ, and raised to the dignity of Children of God, and are thus united in brotherly ties both with each other and with Jesus Christ. (Pope Leo XIII, The Condition of Labour, Rerum Novarum, no. 21)

The State should see to it that labour agreements are entered into according to the norms of justice and equity, and that in the environment of work the dignity of the human being is not violated either in body or spirit. (Pope John XXIII, On Christianity and Social Progress, Mater et Magister, no. 21)

All social action involves a doctrine. The Christian cannot admit that which is based upon a materialistic and atheistic philosophy, which respects neither the religious orientation of life to its fi nal end, nor human freedom and dignity. (Pope Paul VI, On the Development of Peoples, Populorum Progressio, no. 39)

An important, even decisive, contribution was made by the Church’s commitment to defend and promote human rights. In situations strongly infl uenced by ideology, in which polarization obscured the awareness of a human dignity common to all, the Church affi rmed clearly and forcefully that every individual — whatever his or her personal convictions — bears the image of God and therefore deserves respect. Often, the vast majority of people identifi ed themselves with this kind of affi rmation, and this led to a search for forms of protest and for political solutions more respectful of the dignity of the person. (Pope John Paul II, The Hundredth Year, Centesimus Annus, no. 22)

How many benefi ts has the gaze of Christian faith brought to the city of men for their common life! Thanks to faith we have come to understand the unique dignity of each person, something which was not clearly seen in antiquity (Pope Francis, The Light of Faith, Lumen Fidei, no. 54)

Beyond the rights which man acquires by his own work, there exist rights which do not correspond to any work he performs, but which fl ow from his essential dignity as a person. (Pope John Paul II, On the Hundredth Anniversary of Rerum Novarum, Centesimus Annus, no. 11)

Work in the objective sense should be subordinated, in this circumstance too, to the dignity of man, to the subject of work and not to economic advantage. (Pope John Paul II, On Human Work, Laborem Exercens, no. 22)

Man receives from God his essential dignity and with it the capacity to transcend every social order so as to move towards truth and goodness. But he is also conditioned by the social structure in which he lives, by the education he has received and by his environment. These elements can either help or hinder his living in accordance with the truth. (Pope John Paul II, On the Hundredth Anniversary of Rerum Novarum, Centesimus Annus, no. 38)

Whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children; as well as disgraceful working conditions, where humans are treated as mere tools for profi t, rather than as free and responsible persons; all these things and others of their like are infamies indeed. They poison human society, but they do more harm to those who practice them than those who suffer from the injury. (Second Vatican Council, The Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, no. 27)

Neither must it be supposed that the solicitude of the Church is so occupied with the spiritual concerns of its children as to neglect their interest, temporal and earthly. Its desire is that the poor, for example, should rise above poverty and wretchedness, and should better their condition in life; and for this it strives. By the very fact that it calls men to virtue and forms them to its practice, it promotes this in no slight degree. (Pope Leo XIII, The Condition of Labour, Rerum Novarum, no. 23)

In the socioeconomic realm, too, the dignity and complete vocation of the human person and the welfare of society as a whole are to be respected and promoted. For man is the source, the centre, and the purpose of all socioeconomic life. (Second Vatican Council, The Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, no. 63)

The Church considers it her task always to call attention to the dignity and rights of those who work, to condemn situations in which that dignity and those rights are violated, and to help to guide the above-mentioned changes so as to ensure authentic progress by man and society. (Pope John Paul II, On Human Work, Laborem Exercens, no. 1)

The Church, does, however, have a mission of truth to accomplish, in every time and circumstance, for a society that is attuned to man, to his dignity, to his vocation. (Pope Benedict XVI, Charity in Truth, Caritas in Veritate, no. 9)

The whole Church, in all her being and acting — when she proclaims, when she celebrates, when she performs works of charity — is engaged in promoting integral human development. (Pope Benedict XVI, Charity in Truth, Caritas in Veritate, no. 11).

Work gives us dignity! Those who work have dignity, a special dignity, a personal dignity: men and women who work are dignifi ed. Instead, those who do not work do not have this dignity. But there are many who want to work and cannot. This is a burden on our conscience, because when society is organized in such a way that not everyone has the opportunity to work, to be anointed with the dignity of work, then there is something wrong with that society: it is not right! It goes against God himself, who wanted our dignity, starting from here. (Pope Francis, May Day Message, 1 May 2013)

The Common good is not simply the sum total of particular interests; rather it involves an assessment and integration of those interests on the basis of a balanced hierarchy of values; ultimately it demands a correct understanding of the dignity and the rights of the person. (Pope John Paul II, On the Hundredth Anniversary of Rerum Novarum, Centesimus Annus, no. 47)

Together with equality in the recognition of the dignity of each person and of every people there must also be an awareness that it will be possible to safeguard and promote human dignity only if this is done as a community, by the whole of humanity. (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 145)

The rights of the human person are the key element in the whole of the social moral order. (Pope John Paul II, On Human Work, Laborem Exercens, no. 17)

Poverty is not merely the lack of adequate fi nancial resources. It entails a more profound kind of deprivation, a denial of full participation in the economic, social, and political life of society and an inability to infl uence decisions that affect one’s life. (US Catholic Bishops, Economic Justice for All, no. 188)

Any Church community, if it thinks it can comfortably go its own way without creative concern and effective cooperation in helping the poor to live with dignity and reaching out to everyone, will also risk breaking down, however much it may talk about social issues or criticize governments. (Pope Francis, The Joy of the Gospel, Evangelii Gaudium, no. 207)

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SecretaryOf�ice for Justice, Peace and Development

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of IndiaCBCI Centre, 1 Ashok Place, New Delhi – 110 001

E-mail: jpdcommission@gmail.comWebsite: www.thejusticeandpeace.org