Dignity of every person is irrepressible: Pope Francis

Vatican City, 7 December 2013: Your institute aims to promote human dignity on the basis of the fundamental truth that man is created in the image and likeness of God. So the original dignity of every man and woman is irrepressible. Unfortunately, in our time there are powers and forces that end up producing a culture of waste, and this tends to become the common mentality. The victims of this culture are its most vulnerable and weak humans - the unborn, the poor, the elderly sick, and severely disabled. They are likely to be "discarded". Pope Francis made these observations while addressing a delegation from the ‘Instituto Dignitatis Humanae (Institute of Human Dignity) in the Vatican on Saturday.

If we let ourselves be questioned by the Word of God, and allow to enter our personal and social awareness, and question our ways of thinking and acting, policies, priorities and choices, then change will occur, observed the Pontiff. The power of this Word sets limits to anyone who violates the rights and dignity of others. At the same time, it gives hope and comfort to those who cannot defend themselves, who do not have intellectual and practical means to affirm their rights, their own lives.

The Social Doctrine of the Church, with its integral vision of man as a personal and social being, is your ‘compass’, pointed out Pope Francis. There's a particularly significant result of the long journey of the People of God in the modern and contemporary history: there is the defense of religious freedom, of life in all its phases, the right to work and to education.

Pope Francis appreciated the initiative of the Institute, saying they are meant to help people, communities and institutions to rediscover the ethical and social scope of the principle of human dignity, the root of freedom and justice. He also exhorted them the necessity of raising awareness and training, so that the lay faithful, in all conditions, and especially those who engage in the political field, are able to think according to the Gospel and the Church's social teaching and act consistently, communicating and collaborating with those who, with intellectual honesty and sincerity, share, if not the faith, at least a similar vision of man and of society and its ethical consequences, conclude Pope Francis.

The Dignitatis Humanae Institute (Institute for Human Dignity) is a think-tank founded in 2008, the goal of which is to protect and promote human dignity based on the truth that man is born in the image and likeness of God. The primary aim of the Institute is to promote this vision of authentic human dignity mainly by supporting Christians in public life, assisting them in presenting effective and coherent responses to increasing efforts to silence the Christian voice in the public square. The Institute does this by coordinating affiliated parliamentary working groups on human dignity throughout the world.
Source: VR Sedoc