In all that I teach, research and do as a theologian and lay minister, I strive to act in a way that respects the dignity of others. I fall short many times, but it is a responsibility that I’m called to as a Christian — to treat others based upon the infinite dignity that God gifted each of us by virtue of our existence. Although I might not morally or theologically agree with how a person presents themselves, nor with the ideologies that they claim and teach others, Christians are committed to recognizing that every person is a dignified human being worthy of just treatment.
We are all created to be more than what we habitually reduce ourselves to; we are more than our human desires and our sexual natures. We are, as a constitutional document of Vatican II declared, an “outstanding manifestation of the divine image.” To be treated according to a physical identity is reductive, leaving us nothing more than a reflection of a man-made, secular ideology.
Because I believe these things, I have struggled these last days to understand why so many Christians, Catholic or not, as well as other well-meaning religious theologians and people of faith, have so harshly criticized the Vatican’s new declaration titled Dignitas Infinita, especially in relation to its discussion of the transgender community.
The document, which took five years to craft through careful theological discernment, does not waver in its affirmation that all humans, no matter who they are or choose to become, possess a “dignity that is indelible and remains valid beyond any circumstances in which the person may find themselves.”
Reading the headlines after the document’s publication, especially regarding its statements in relation to “gender theory,” one would assume, however, that the Vatican has abandoned the course on dignity of all persons in favor of dignity for only a few.
The media focus and the frustration plastered across social media are not only misleading, but untruthful. Although Pope Francis is firm in teaching the Catholic Church’s theological understanding that people are to “protect our humanity … accepting it and respecting as it was created” and seeing any attempt at sex change to be “threatening [our] unique human dignity,” he is even more firm in reminding us that “It should be denounced as contrary to human dignity the fact that, in some places, not a few people are imprisoned, tortured and even deprived of the good of life solely because of their sexual orientation.”
So, it is dishonest to claim that this new document is evidence that Pope Francis has reverted the Church back to the Dark Ages. Contrarily, if one takes this document in its entirety, they will find it is a bold reminder of the responsibility that we all have to treat all people justly and with dignity, no matter the moral decisions that they make or the lives that they live.
Pope Francis is pastorally attentive in recognizing “that a person with genital abnormalities that are already evident at birth or that develop later may choose to receive the assistance of health care professionals to resolve these abnormalities,” a reminder that although we do not understand the full creation of beings, we have a responsibility to accompany them as they navigate who they have been created to be in a way that helps them become who God is calling them to be.
As the world continues to discern and debate this document, it is my hope that by engaging in what the document says and what it doesn’t, we can create an avenue that allows even the harshest critics and the most ardent supporters of Pope Francis to see beyond the headlines and connect to the message in a way that allows for a deeper thinking.
Relying on the gift of freedom and independent thinking, documents like this challenge us to think beyond ourselves and enter into the lives of those who we do not understand. It should serve as an opportunity for us to think about those who struggle with human dignity, especially those among us who struggle with recognizing their own dignity.
Far too many people are unaware of their own dignity and that they, too, are worthy of God’s love. A kind of love that is so powerful that it directs them upward toward good and away from the misguided ideologies that will enslave them to being nothing more than the titles they adopt or are given by a world that does not have their best interests in mind. Dignitas Infinita is for them.
And so, my challenge to you, especially those who are struggling to make sense of Pope Francis’ words on gender theory, is to read beyond the sensational headlines offered by our media and, instead, in the words of St. Augustine, “to take up and read” Dignitas Infinita. See for yourself what Pope Francis actually teaches about human dignity and the great responsibility we have to nurture and practice it. I think you may be pleasantly surprised and inspired.
Jodi Hunt is executive director at the Ann & Joe O. Neuhoff Institute for Ministry and Evangelization at the University of Dallas.
