The Ongoing Debate Over Dignitatis Humanae, by Jerry D. Salyer

The modern man says, “Let us leave all these arbitrary standards and embrace liberty.” That is, logically rendered, “Let us not decide what is good, but let it be considered good not to decide it.” —G.K. Chesterton

Two polarized positions appear to frame the debate about Dignitatis Humanae. On one side stand conservative defenders of Vatican II, who see the document as liberating the authentic teaching of the Church from imperfections which accrued during the medieval period. Man’s dignity as an image of God is at stake, along with the recognition of free will; to reject religious freedom is to embrace the teachings of Calvinism, Islam, and other doctrines which treat men as mere pawns on a chessboard, to be pushed hither and yon by the pious elect.

Meanwhile, the most insistent critics of Vatican II insinuate that Dignitatis Humanae is heretical—that it repudiates longstanding teachings regarding the Kingship of Christ and the necessity of promoting a thorough Christianization of society. …

Continue reading >>>>