DIGNITAS INFINITA THE VATICAN DEFINED

THE CONCEPTION OF HUMAN DIGNITY

Called “Dignitas infinita” (“An infinite dignity”), this official document of around twenty pages approved in March by Pope Francis can be read as a way of healing internal divisions within the Church, after criticism accusing Pope Francis of betraying Catholic doctrine, particularly on LGBT+ issues.

We find there the key themes of Jorge Bergoglio's pontificate, such as war, migrant rights, poverty, ecology or social justice, associated among others with bioethical questions or linked to digital violence.

Around fifteen “concrete and serious violations”

The fruit of five years of work, the declaration published by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the powerful organ of the Holy See responsible for dogma, reaffirms the traditional line of the Church by listing around fifteen “concrete and serious violations” dignity, including abortion and surrogacy (GPA).

On the end of life, the Church reiterates its firm opposition to euthanasia and assisted suicide while a bill on the end of life opening the right to "assisted dying" must be presented this Wednesday in Council ministers in France.

The Vatican also strongly denounces the "gender theory", according to which sexual identity is determined by education and environment, and not by genetic differences.

“Any sex change intervention risks, as a general rule, threatening the unique dignity that a person has received from the moment of conception,” states the text, emphasizing “the need to respect the natural order.”

Against the criminalization of homosexuality

At the same time, the Church stands against the criminalization of homosexuality - still in force in many countries, particularly in Africa - and denounces "the fact that, in certain places, many people are imprisoned, tortured, and even deprived of the good of life solely because of their sexual orientation.”

“We talk little about this violation of human rights [...] and it is painful that some Catholics defend these unjust laws,” lamented during a press conference the prefect of the dicastery, Argentine Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, close of the pope and signatory of the text.