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Benedict XVI, Human Dignity, and Absolute Moral Norms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

David G. Kirchhoffer
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Abstract

Pope Benedict XVI often uses the concept of the dignity of the human person in his discourse. This article firstly attempts to present a synthesis of Benedict XVI's understanding of human dignity. The result is a multidimensional understanding of human dignity based on the belief that the human person is created in the image of God. Human dignity is constituted by the given-ness of human existence, the capacities inherent in being human—freedom, reason, love and community—and the telos of human existence, namely, spiritual union with God and the practical realisation of a peaceful and mutually edifying human coexistence. Based on this understanding of human dignity, Benedict XVI develops a normative morality. The second part of this article asks whether interpretations of this normative morality that would claim that some of these norms are absolute moral norms are in fact correct. Particular attention is paid to the apparent equation or reduction of human dignity to the dignity of life. The conclusion is, though it is possible to read Benedict XVI's normative morality as advocating absolute moral norms, such an interpretation would be usually incorrect in light of Benedict XVI's more comprehensive understanding of human dignity.

Keywords

Benedict XVIdignityhuman dignityright to lifemoral
Type
Original Articles
Information
New Blackfriars , Volume 91 , Issue 1035 , September 2010 , pp. 586 - 608
Copyright
Copyright © The author 2009. Journal compilation © The Dominican Council.

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References

1 Others who prefer to make a distinction between the thought of Ratzinger and Benedict XVI include Duffy, Eamon, “Benedict XVI and the Eucharist,” New Blackfriars, 88, 1014 (2006): 195–212CrossRefGoogle Scholar, and Power, David N., “Contrast and Complementarity: Two Approaches to the Thought of Joseph Ratzinger,” International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church, 5, 3 (2005): 256–264Google Scholar.

2 See Benedict XVI, “Faith, Reason and the University: Memories and Reflections,” Lecture to the Representatives of Science (University of Regensburg, 12 September 2006).

3 I am not suggesting that we should necessarily accept this ‘creeping infallibility.’ It is important that we continually point out the relative ‘authority’ of particular documents and statements. Nevertheless, I also maintain that the Catholic Church, like any media savvy organisation, should be aware that any statements may be interpreted as authoritative or representative. This article proceeds with this possibility in mind.

4 See Bagaric, Mirko and Allan, James, “The Vacuous Concept of Dignity,” Journal of Human Rights, 5 (2006): 257–270CrossRefGoogle Scholar, for a useful list of instruments that contain references to the notion of the human dignity.

5 This number includes the mention of the appropriate equivalent of dignity in another language where no English version of the document is available. The source of all references to Benedict XVI's discourses is the official Vatican website available at http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/index.htm. This choice of the website as the primary source is based on the methodological presuppositions outlined above.

6 See Benedict XVI, General Audience (26 October 2005).

7 See Benedict XVI, General Audience (22 February 2006).

8 For example: “For Christians it is a matter of learning to know one another ever more deeply and to respect one another in the light of the dignity of the human being and his eternal destiny.” Angelus (2 July 2006). See also, among others, Homily (20 April 2005); Homily (24 April 2005); Regina Caeli (1 May 2005); General Audience (24 August 2005); Letter to Honourable Mr Pier Ferdinando Casini, President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Republic (18 October 2005); Message for the 14th World Day of the Sick (8 December 2005); Urbi et Orbi (25 December 2006); Address to the New Ambassador of Costa Rica (10 February 2007); Address to the Members of the Foundation for Interreligious and Intercultural Research and Dialogue (1 February 2007).

9 Benedict XVI, Angelus (1 January 2007).

10 Benedict XVI, Message to Mr Jacques Diouf, Director General of FAO on the Occasion of World Food Day 2005 (12 October 2005).

11 See, among others, Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est (25 December 2005) n. 30b; Homily (5 February 2006); Letter to participants of the XII Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences (27 April 2006); Greeting to a Delegation from B’Nai B’Rith International (18 December 2006); Homily (1 January 2007); Sacramentum Caritatis (22 February 2007) n. 89.

12 See Benedict XVI, “The Human Person, the Heart of Peace,” Message for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace (1 January 2007) n. 2.

13 Ibid. Related to the idea of being created in the image of God is that of being children of God; see Homily (31 December 2005); Homily (28 May 2006).

14 “… respect the sacredness of the human person and his dignity, because his life is a divine gift.” Common Declaration by His Holiness Benedict XVI and His Beatitude Christodoulos, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece (14 December 2006).

15 Benedict XVI, “The Human Person …,” n. 4.

16 See Ibid., n. 6.

17 See Benedict XVI, Letter to Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran on the Occasion of the Colloquium organized by UNESCO in Paris (24 May 2005); Message to Mr Jacques Diouf; Address to H.E. Mr Frank de Coninck, Ambassador of Belgium to the Holy See (26 October 2006); Address to the Members of the “Pro Petri Sede” and “Etrennes Pontificales” Associations (30 October 2006); Address to the Diplomatic Corps to the Republic of Turkey (28 November 2006); Message for the 41st World Communications Day (20 May 2007).

18 See Benedict XVI, Letter to Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran; Address to the Bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Croatia on their “Ad Limina” Visit (6 July 2006); Address to his Beatitude Christodoulos, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece (14 December 2006); Greeting to … B’nai B’rith; “The Human Person … .”

19 See Benedict XVI, Address to the Participants at the 20th International Conference Organized by the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care on the Theme of the Human Genome (19 November 2005); Address to Mr Sten Erik Malmborg Lilholt, Ambassador of Denmark to the Holy See (1 December 2005).

20 See Benedict XVI, Address to Mr Francis Martin-Xavier Campbell, Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Holy See (23 December 2005); Address to H.E. Mr Amitava Tripathi, New Ambassador of the Republic of India to the Holy See (18 May 2006); Letter to the … Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

21 See Benedict XVI, Address to H.E. Mr Elchin Oktyabr Oglu Amirbayov, Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Holy See (16 June 2005); Address to H.E. Mrs Anne Maree Plunkett, New Ambassador of Australia to the Holy See (18 May 2006); Address to Mr Maratbek Salievic Bakiev, Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic to the Holy See (14 December 2006).

22 See Benedict XVI, Homily (28 May 2006).

23 Benedict XVI, “The Human Person …,” n. 2.

24 See Benedict XVI, Homily (28 May 2006); Homily (9 July 2006); Address to the Members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences (6 November 2006); Homily (18 March 2007); Address to the New Ambassador of the Ukraine (30 March 2007).

25 See Benedict XVI, Homily (18 March 2007).

26 See for instance Benedict XVI, “Faith, Reason and the University”.

27 See Benedict XVI, Address at the Conclusion of the Meeting with the Bishops of Switzerland (9 November 2006).

28 Benedict XVI, Angelus (4 December 2006) quoting Dignitatis Humanae, 2. The missing portion in the quote from Dignitatus Humanae states, “… and therefore privileged to bear personal responsibility … .” See also: “Les croyants jouissent dans votre pays de la liberté religieuse, qui est une dimension essentielle de la liberté de l’homme et donc une expression majeure de sa dignité.” Address to the New Ambassador of the Ukraine.

29 See Benedict XVI, “The Human Person …,” n. 3 and 4.

30 “It is worth thinking a bit about these words of Origen, who sees the fundamental difference between the human being and the other animals in the fact that man is capable of recognizing God, his Creator, that man is capable of truth, capable of a knowledge that becomes a relationship, friendship. It is important in our time that we do not forget God, together with all the other kinds of knowledge we have acquired in the meantime, and they are very numerous! They all become problematic, at times dangerous, if the fundamental knowledge that gives meaning and orientation to all things is missing: knowledge of God the Creator.” Benedict XVI, General Audience (11 January 2006).

31 Benedict XVI, “The Human Person …,” n. 16. See also Deus Caritas Est, n. 10.

32 See Benedict XVI, “The Human Person …,” n. 10. See also Address to H.E. Mr. Kagefumi Ueno, Ambassador of Japan to the Holy See (13 November 2006).

33 Benedict XVI refers negatively to the human being's “destructive capacities.” See “The Human Person …,” n. 9.

34 Ibid., n. 10.

35 Benedict XVI's Trinitarian theology also points to the necessity of this. God, as Trinity, is a community of Love. Therefore, the human person, as image of God, has dignity based on his or ability to love in community. C.f. “The human person is the event or being of relativity.” Ratzinger, Joseph, “Retrieving the Tradition: Concerning the notion of person in theology” Communio 17 (1990): 439–454Google Scholar.

36 Benedict XVI, Homily (18 March 2007).

37 See Benedict XVI, “The Human Person …,” n. 2.

38 See Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 1.

39 Benedict XVI, Homily (28 May 2006).

40 Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, n. 18.

41 Ibid.

42 “It is in lowering ourselves, together with Christ, that we rise up to him and up to God. God is Love, and so the descent, the lowering that love demands of us, is at the same time the true ascent. Exactly in this way, lowering ourselves, coming out of ourselves, we reach the dignity of Jesus Christ, the human being's true dignity.” Benedict XVI, Homily (15 May 2005).

43 See McDonagh, Philip, “The Unity of Love: Reflections on the First Encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI” Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, 10, 1 (2007): 16–31CrossRefGoogle Scholar, who reaches a similar conclusion in his reflection on Deus Caritas Est, n.14, “… our two loves, of God and of neighbor, by definition advance together,” p. 25; See also Dulles, Avery, “Love, the Pope, and C.S. Lewis,” First Things, 169 (2007): 20–24Google Scholar, who states in a brief commentary on Deus Caritas Est, “In their highest expression, the two types of love reinforce each other. Contemplation of the divine gives us the spiritual strength to take upon ourselves the needs of others. Pope Gregory I explained how Moses, by engaging in dialogue with God in the tabernacle, obtained the power he needed to be of service to his people. Similarly, to become sources from which living waters flow, we must drink deeply from the wellsprings of life. The more deiform we become, the more capable we will be of agape. Conversely, the more concerned we are with service to others, the more receptive will we be to the gifts of God.”

44 Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, n. 18.

45 Benedict XVI, “The Human Person …,” n. 2.

46 Benedict XVI, Homily (5 February 2006).

47 Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, n. 30b; See also Address to the Members of the Episcopal Conference of Chad on Their “Ad Limina” Visit (23 September 2006); Address to the Ambassadors of Countries with a Muslim Majority and to the Representatives of Muslim Communities in Italy (25 September 2006).

48 See Benedict XVI, Letter to Card. Jean-Louis Tauran; General Audience (24 August 2005); Lettera di sua santità Benedetto XVI al Presidente del senato Marcello Pera in occasione del convegno di norcia <<Libertà e Laicità>> (15 October 2005); Letter to Card. Walter Kasper on the occasion of the Second Conference on Peace and Tolerance, organized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in conjunction with the Appeal of Conscience Foundation (4 November 2005); Letter to Card. Rivera Carrera on the occasion of the Meeting on the “Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church” (19 November 2005); Letter to the Patriarch of Moscow and of All the Russias (17 February 2006); Homily (9 July 2006); Address to H.E. Mr Pedro Pablo Cabrera Gaete, New Ambassador of Chile to the Holy See (8 September 2006); Address to the Ambassadors of Countries with a Muslim Majority; Address to Mr. Lars Møller Ambassador of Denmark to the Holy See (14 December 2006); Common Declaration … His Beatitude Christodoulos; Homily (1 January 2007); “The Human Person …,” n. 16; Address to the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care (22 March 2007).

49 Benedict XVI, Message to Mr Jacques Diouf.

50 Benedict XVI, Audience with the Participants in the Congress Promoted by the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) (24 March 2007).

51 See Benedict XVI, “The Human Person … .”

52 Ibid., n. 3.

53 Benedict XVI, Address of his Holiness Benedict XVI to the Participants in the General Assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life (24 February 2007).

54 Benedict XVI, Address to the Participants in the International Congress on Natural Moral Law (12 February 2007).

55 Ibid.

56 Benedict XVI, Angelus (1 October 2006).

57 See Benedict XVI, “The Human Person …;” Address to … Congress on Natural Moral Law.

58 Cf. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, I-II, 94, 2.

59 See Benedict XVI, Message for Lent 2006 (29 September 2005).

60 See, among others, Benedict XVI, Letter to Card. Jean-Louis Tauran; Letter to Card. Walter Kasper … with the Appeal of Conscience Foundation; General Audience (16 November 2005); Message for Lent 2007 (21 November 2006); Common Declaration … His Beatitude Christodoulos; “The Human Person …,” n. 4; Address of his Holiness Benedict XVI to H.E. Mr Alfonso Rivero Monsalve Ambassador of Peru to the Holy See (16 March 2007).

61 See Benedict XVI, Address to His Beatitude Archbishop Christodoulos; “The Human Person … .”

62 See Benedict XVI, Address to the Participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications (17 March 2006); Address to … the Episcopal Conference of Chad. See also Benedict, XVI, “Europe and its Discontents,” First Things 159 (2006) 16–22Google Scholar.

63 See Benedict XVI, Address to … Ambassador of Chile.

64 Benedict XVI, Address to the Members of the European People's Party on the Occasion of the Study Days on Europe (30 March 2006); Address to … Ambassador of Chile.

65 Benedict XVI, Address to H.E. Mr Juan Gomez Martínez Ambassador of Colombia to the Holy See (9 February 2007).

66 Benedict XVI, Address to … Ambassador of Chile; See also Benedict XVI, Message for 40th World Communications Day (24 January 2006) n. 3; Address to H.E. Mr Martin Bolldorf, New Ambassador of Austria to the Holy See (18 September 2006); Address to … Ambassador of Colombia.

67 Benedict XVI, Homily (9 July 2006); See also Address to … the Episcopal Conference of Chad.

68 Benedict XVI, Homily (9 July 2006).

69 Benedict XVI, Message to Mr Jacques Diouf.

70 Benedict XVI, Homily (9 July 2006).

71 See ibid.

72 Benedict XVI, Letter to Card. Walter Kasper … with the Appeal of Conscience Foundation.

73 Benedict XVI, Address to … “Pro Petri Sede”.

74 Benedict XVI, Letter to Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran.

75 Benedict XVI, Common Declaration … His Beatitude Christodoulos.

76 Benedict XVI, Address to the Participants in the Symposium on the Theme: “Stem Cells: What Future for Therapy?” Organized by the Pontifical Academy for Life (16 September 2006).

77 Benedict XVI, Letter to H.E. Mr. Roh Moo-hyun, President of the Republic of Korea (15 February 2007).

78 Benedict XVI, Letter to the Italian Bishops on occasion of the 55th General Assembly held in Assisi (10 November 2005).

79 Benedict XVI, Address to … the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

80 Benedict XVI, “The Human Person …” n. 4.

81 See Benedict XVI, “The Human Person …” n. 2.

82 See Bagaric and Allan, “The Vacuous Concept of Dignity.”

83 See Benedict XVI, Homily (9 June 2006).

84 Benedict XVI, Homily (9 July 2006) quoting Homily (9 June 2006).

85 In this regard, it may be useful to reflect on the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14–30). The servant who was given only one talent buried it and then returned it to his master, while the others used their talents to create more. The latter were rewarded, but the servant who only preserved the one talent is called wicked and lazy and cast into the darkness.

86 See Bagaric and Allan, “The Vacuous Concept of Dignity”, 268.