Love and Dignity, by John M. Grondelski

By John M. Grondelski, Crisis Magazine, April 11, 2024

John M. Grondelski (Ph.D., Fordham) is a former associate dean of the School of Theology, Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey. All views expressed herein are his own.

I admit a certain ambivalence about organizing a document around “human dignity” because I am unsure we’ve adequately prepared the ground to support that discussion, especially with non-Catholic circles.

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith published a declaration, Dignitas Infinita, on April 8 (though it predated it April 2, supposedly to coincide with the 19th anniversary of St. John Paul II’s death). The declaration is divided into two parts: a general discussion of “dignity” as the organizing concept of the document and a “not…exhaustive” catalog of 13 instances where dignity is violated.

Without addressing here either whether or how we might speak of “infinite” dignity as related to the human person or commenting on specific issues Dignitas covers, let me make some preliminary observations about the document’s overall approach. …

Continue reading >>>>>>>>>>>>