LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Assignment Title: SOCIAL DOCTRINE AND THE PERSONALIST PRINCIPLE
Course: CHMN 699 - Internship
Student: Kristine Sage
Date: January 29, 2022
Professor: Dr. Joel Breidenbaugh
SOCIAL DOCTRINE AND THE PERSONALIST PRINCIPLE
105. The Church sees in men and women, in every person, the living image of God himself. This
image finds, and must always find anew, an ever deeper and fuller unfolding of itself in the mystery of
Christ, the Perfect Image of God, the One who reveals God to man and man to himself. It is to these men
and women, who have received an incomparable and inalienable dignity from God himself, that the
Church speaks, rendering to them the highest and most singular service, constantly reminding them of
their lofty vocation so that they may always be mindful of it and worthy of it. Christ, the Son of God, “by
his incarnation has united himself in some fashion with every person”[197]; for this reason the Church
recognizes as her fundamental duty the task of seeing that this union is continuously brought about and
renewed. In Christ the Lord, the Church indicates and strives to be the first to embark upon the path of
the human person[198], and she invites all people to recognize in everyone — near and far, known and
unknown, and above all in the poor and the suffering — a brother or sister “for whom Christ died” (1 Cor
8:11; Rom 14:15)[199].
106. All of social life is an expression of its unmistakable protagonist: the human person. The Church
has many times and in many ways been the authoritative advocate of this understanding, recognizing
and affirming the centrality of the human person in every sector and expression of society: “Human
society is therefore the object of the social teaching of the Church since she is neither outside nor over
and above socially united men, but exists exclusively in them and, therefore, for them”[200]. This
important awareness is expressed in the affirmation that “far from being the object or passive element
of social life” the human person “is rather, and must always remain, its subject, foundation and
goal”[201]. The origin of social life is therefore found in the human person, and society cannot refuse to
recognize its active and responsible subject; every expression of society must be directed towards the
human person.
107. Men and women, in the concrete circumstances of history, represent the heart and soul of
Catholic social thought[202]. The whole of the Church's social doctrine, in fact, develops from the
principle that affirms the inviolable dignity of the human person[203]. In her manifold expressions of this
knowledge, the Church has striven above all to defend human dignity in the face of every attempt to
redimension or distort its image; moreover she has often denounced the many violations of human
dignity. History attests that it is from the fabric of social relationships that there arise some of the best
possibilities for ennobling the human person, but it is also there that lie in wait the most loathsome
rejections of human dignity.
II. THE HUMAN PERSON AS THE “IMAGO DEI”
a. Creatures in the image of God
108. The fundamental message of Sacred Scripture proclaims that the human person is a creature of
God (cf. Ps 139:14-18), and sees in his being in the image of God the element that characterizes and
distinguishes him: “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and
female he created them” (Gen 1:27). God places the human creature at the centre and summit of the
created order. Man (in Hebrew, “adam”) is formed from the earth (“adamah”) and God blows into his
nostrils the breath of life (cf. Gen 2:7). Therefore, “being in the image of God the human individual
possesses the dignity of a person, who is not just something, but someone. He is capable of self-
knowledge, of self-possession and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with other
persons. Further, he is called by grace to a covenant with his Creator, to offer him a response of faith
and love that no other creature can give in his stead”[204].
109. The likeness with God shows that the essence and existence of man are constitutively related to
God in the most profound manner.[205] This is a relationship that exists in itself, it is therefore not
something that comes afterwards and is not added from the outside. The whole of man's life is a quest
and a search for God. This relationship with God can be ignored or even forgotten or dismissed, but it
can never be eliminated. Indeed, among all the world's visible creatures, only man has a “capacity for
God” (“homo est Dei capax”).[206] The human being is a personal being created by God to be in
relationship with him; man finds life and self-expression only in relationship, and tends naturally to God.
[207 ]
110. The relationship between God and man is reflected in the relational and social dimension of
human nature. Man, in fact, is not a solitary being, but “a social being, and unless he relates himself to
others he can neither live nor develop his potential”[208]. In this regard the fact that God created
human beings as man and woman (cf. Gen 1:27) is significant[209]: “How very significant is the
dissatisfaction which marks man's life in Eden as long as his sole point of reference is the world of plants
and animals (cf. Gen 2:20). Only the appearance of the woman, a being who is flesh of his flesh and bone
of his bones (cf. Gen 2:23), and in whom the spirit of God the Creator is also alive, can satisfy the need
for interpersonal dialogue, so vital for human existence. In one's neighbour, whether man or woman,
there is a reflection of God himself, the definitive goal and fulfilment of every person”[210].
111. Man and woman have the same dignity and are of equal value[211], not only because they are
both, in their differences, created in the image of God, but even more profoundly because the dynamic of
reciprocity that gives life to the “we” in the human couple, is an image of God[212]. In a relationship of
mutual communion, man and woman fulfil themselves in a profound way, rediscovering themselves as
persons through the sincere gift of themselves[213]. Their covenant of union is presented in Sacred
Scripture as an image of the Covenant of God with man (cf. Hos 1-3; Is 54; Eph 5:21-33) and, at the same
time, as a service to life[214]. Indeed, the human couple can participate in God's act of creation: “God
blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it' “ (Gen
1:28).
112. Man and woman are in relationship with others above all as those to whom the lives of others
have been entrusted[215]. “For your lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning, ... I will require it ... of
man [and] of every man's brother” (Gen 9:5), God tells Noah after the flood. In this perspective, the
relationship with God requires that the life of man be considered sacred and inviolable[216]. The fifth
commandment, “Thou shalt not kill” (Ex 20:13; Deut 5:17), has validity because God alone is Lord of life
and death[217]. The respect owed to the inviolability and integrity of physical life finds its climax in the
positive commandment: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Lev 19:18), by which Jesus enjoins
the obligation to tend to the needs of one's neighbour (cf. Mt 22:37-40; Mk 12:29-31; Lk 10:27-28).
113. With this specific vocation to life, man and woman find themselves also in the presence of all
the other creatures. They can and are obliged to put them at their own service and to enjoy them, but
their dominion over the world requires the exercise of responsibility, it is not a freedom of arbitrary and
selfish exploitation. All of creation in fact has value and is “good” (cf. Gen 1:4,10,12,18,21,25) in the sight
of God, who is its author. Man must discover and respect its value. This is a marvellous challenge to his
intellect, which should lift him up as on wings [218] towards the contemplation of the truth of all God's
creatures, that is, the contemplation of what God sees as good in them. The Book of Genesis teaches
that human dominion over the world consists in naming things (cf. Gen 2:19-20). In giving things their
names, man must recognize them for what they are and establish with each of them a relationship of
responsibility[219].
114. Man is also in relationship with himself and is able to reflect on himself. Sacred Scripture
speaks in this regard about the heart of man. The heart designates man's inner spirituality, what
distinguishes him from every other creature. God “has made everything beautiful in its time; also he has
put eternity into man's mind, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to
the end” (Eccles 3:11). In the end, the heart indicates the spiritual faculties which most properly belong
to man, which are his prerogatives insofar as he is created in the image of his Creator: reason, the
discernment of good and evil, free will[220]. When he listens to the deep aspirations of his heart, no
person can fail to make his own the words of truth expressed by Saint Augustine: “You have made us for
yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you”[221].
b. The tragedy of sin
115. This marvellous vision of man's creation by God is inseparable from the tragic appearance of
original sin. With a clear affirmation the Apostle Paul sums up the account of man's fall contained in the
first pages of the Bible: “Sin came into the world through one man and death through sin” (Rom 5:12).
Man, against God's prohibition, allows himself to be seduced by the serpent and stretches out his hand
to the tree of life, falling prey to death. By this gesture, man tries to break through his limits as a
creature, challenging God, his sole Lord and the source of his life. It is a sin of disobedience (cf. Rom
5:19) that separates man from God[222].
From revelation we know that Adam, the first man, transgresses God's commandment and loses the
holiness and justice in which he was made, holiness and justice which were received not only for himself
but for all of humanity: “By yielding to the tempter, Adam and Eve committed a personal sin, but this sin
affected the human nature that they would then transmit in a fallen state. It is a sin which will be
transmitted by propagation to all mankind, that is, by the transmission of a human nature deprived of
original holiness and justice”[223].
116. At the root of personal and social divisions, which in differing degrees offend the value and
dignity of the human person, there is a wound which is present in man's inmost self. “In the light of faith
we call it sin: beginning with original sin, which all of us bear from birth as an inheritance from our first
parents, to the sin which each one of us commits when we abuse our own freedom”[224]. The
consequences of sin, insofar as it is an act of separation from God, are alienation, that is, the separation
of man not only from God but also from himself, from other men and from the world around him.
“Man's rupture with God leads tragically to divisions between brothers. In the description of the ‘first
sin', the rupture with Yahweh simultaneously breaks the bond of friendship that had united the human
family. Thus the subsequent pages of Genesis show us the man and the woman as it were pointing an
accusing finger at each other (cf. Gen. 3:12). Later we have brother hating brother and finally taking his
brother's life (cf. Gen 4:2-16). According to the Babel story, the result of sin is the shattering of the
human family, already begun with the first sin and now reaching its most extreme form on the social
level”[225]. Reflecting on the mystery of sin, we cannot fail to take into consideration this tragic
connection between cause and effect.
117. The mystery of sin is composed of a twofold wound, which the sinner opens in his own side
and in the relationship with his neighbour. That is why we can speak of personal and social sin. Every sin
is personal under a certain aspect; under another, every sin is social, insofar as and because it also has
social consequences. In its true sense, sin is always an act of the person, because it is the free act of an
individual person and not properly speaking of a group or community. The character of social sin can
unquestionably be ascribed to every sin, taking into account the fact that “by virtue of human solidarity
which is as mysterious and intangible as it is real and concrete, each individual's sin in some way affects
others”[226]. It is not, however, legitimate or acceptable to understand social sin in a way that, more or
less consciously, leads to a weakening or the virtual cancellation of the personal component by
admitting only social guilt and responsibility. At the bottom of every situation of sin there is always the
individual who sins.
118. Certain sins, moreover, constitute by their very object a direct assault on one's neighbour. Such
sins in particular are known as social sins. Social sin is every sin committed against the justice due in
relations between individuals, between the individual and the community, and also between the
community and the individual. Social too is every sin against the rights of the human person, starting
with the right to life, including that of life in the womb, and every sin against the physical integrity of the
individual; every sin against the freedom of others, especially against the supreme freedom to believe in
God and worship him; and every sin against the dignity and honour of one's neighbour. Every sin against
the common good and its demands, in the whole broad area of rights and duties of citizens, is also social
sin. In the end, social sin is that sin that “refers to the relationships between the various human
communities. These relationships are not always in accordance with the plan of God, who intends that
there be justice in the world and freedom and peace between individuals, groups and peoples”[227].
119. The consequences of sin perpetuate the structures of sin. These are rooted in personal sin and,
therefore, are always connected to concrete acts of the individuals who commit them, consolidate them
and make it difficult to remove them. It is thus that they grow stronger, spread and become sources of
other sins, conditioning human conduct[228]. These are obstacles and conditioning that go well beyond
the actions and brief life span of the individual and interfere also in the process of the development of
peoples, the delay and slow pace of which must be judged in this light[229]. The actions and attitudes
opposed to the will of God and the good of neighbour, as well as the structures arising from such
behaviour, appear to fall into two categories today: “on the one hand, the all-consuming desire for
profit, and on the other, the thirst for power, with the intention of imposing one's will upon others. In
order to characterize better each of these attitudes, one can add the expression: ‘at any price”'[230].
c. The universality of sin and the universality of salvation
120. The doctrine of original sin, which teaches the universality of sin, has an important foundation:
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 Jn 1:8). This doctrine
encourages men and women not to remain in guilt and not to take guilt lightly, continuously seeking
scapegoats in other people and justification in the environment, in heredity, in institutions, in structures
and in relationships. This is a teaching that unmasks such deceptions.
The doctrine of the universality of sin, however, must not be separated from the consciousness of
the universality of salvation in Jesus Christ. If it is so separated it engenders a false anxiety of sin and a
pessimistic view of the world and life, which leads to contempt of the cultural and civil accomplishments
of mankind.
121. Christian realism sees the abysses of sin, but in the light of the hope, greater than any evil,
given by Jesus Christ's act of redemption, in which sin and death are destroyed (cf. Rom 5:18-21; 1 Cor
15:56-57): “In him God reconciled man to himself”[231]. It is Christ, the image of God (cf. 2 Cor 4:4; Col
1:15), who enlightens fully and brings to completion the image and likeness of God in man. The Word
that became man in Jesus Christ has always been mankind's life and light, the light that enlightens every
person (cf. Jn 1:4,9). God desires in the one mediator Jesus Christ, his Son, the salvation of all men and
women (cf. 1 Tim 2:4-5). Jesus is at the same time the Son of God and the new Adam, that is, the new
man (cf. 1 Cor 15:47-49; Rom 5:14): “Christ the new Adam, in the very revelation of the mystery of the
Father and of his love, fully reveals man to himself and brings to light his most high calling”[232]. In him
we are, by God, “predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the
first-born among many brethren” (Rom 8:29).
122. The new reality that Jesus Christ gives us is not grafted onto human nature nor is it added from
outside: it is rather that reality of communion with the Trinitarian God to which men and women have
always been oriented in the depths of their being, thanks to their creaturely likeness to God. But this is
also a reality that people cannot attain by their own forces alone. Through the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the
incarnate Son of God, in whom this reality of communion has already been brought about in a singular
manner, men and women are received as children of God (cf. Rom 8:14-17; Gal 4:4-7). By means of
Christ, we share in the nature of God, who gives us infinitely more “than all that we ask or think” (Eph
3:20). What mankind has already received is nothing more than a token or a “guarantee” (2 Cor 1:22;
Eph 1:14) of what it will receive in its fullness only in the presence of God, seen “face to face” (1 Cor
13:12), that is, a guarantee of eternal life: “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (Jn 17:3).
123. The universality of this hope also includes, besides the men and women of all peoples, heaven
and earth: “Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down righteousness; let the earth
open, that salvation may sprout forth, and let it cause righteousness to spring up also; I the Lord have
created it” (Is 45:8). According to the New Testament, all creation, together indeed with all humanity,
awaits the Redeemer: subjected to futility, creation reaches out full of hope, with groans and birth
pangs, longing to be freed from decay (cf. Rom 8:18-22).
III. THE MANY ASPECTS OF THE HUMAN PERSON
124. Prizing highly the marvellous biblical message, the Church's social doctrine stops to dwell above
all on the principal and indispensable dimensions of the human person. Thus it is able to grasp the most
significant facets of the mystery and dignity of human beings. In the past there has been no lack of
various reductionist conceptions of the human person, many of which are still dramatically present on
the stage of modern history. These are ideological in character or are simply the result of widespread
forms of custom or thought concerning mankind, human life and human destiny. The common
denominator among these is the attempt to make the image of man unclear by emphasizing only one of
his characteristics at the expense of all the others[233].
125. The human person may never be thought of only as an absolute individual being, built up by
himself and on himself, as if his characteristic traits depended on no one else but himself. Nor can the
person be thought of as a mere cell of an organism that is inclined at most to grant it recognition in its
functional role within the overall system. Reductionist conceptions of the full truth of men and women
have already been the object of the Church's social concern many times, and she has not failed to raise
her voice against these, as against other drastically reductive perspectives, taking care to proclaim
instead that “individuals do not feel themselves isolated units, like grains of sand, but united by the very
force of their nature and by their internal destiny, into an organic, harmonious mutual
relationship”[234]. She has affirmed instead that man cannot be understood “simply as an element, a
molecule within the social organism”[235], and is therefore attentive that the affirmation of the primacy
of the person is not seen as corresponding to an individualistic or mass vision.
126. Christian faith, while inviting that whatever is good and worthy of man should be sought out
wherever it may be found (cf. 1 Thes 5:21), “is above and is sometimes opposed to the ideologies, in that
it recognizes God, who is transcendent and the Creator, and who, through all the levels of creation, calls
on man as endowed with responsibility and freedom”[236].
The Church's social doctrine strives to indicate the different dimensions of the mystery of man, who
must be approached “in the full truth of his existence, of his personal being and also of his community
and social being”[237], with special attention so that the value of the human person may be readily
perceived.
A. THE UNITY OF THE PERSON
127. Man was created by God in unity of body and soul[238]. “The spiritual and immortal soul is the
principle of unity of the human being, whereby it exists as a whole — corpore et anima unus — as a
person. These definitions not only point out that the body, which has been promised the resurrection,
will also share in glory. They also remind us that reason and free will are linked with all the bodily and
sense faculties. The person, including the body, is completely entrusted to himself, and it is in the unity of
body and soul that the person is the subject of his own moral acts”[239].
128. Through his corporeality man unites in himself elements of the material world; these “reach
their summit through him, and through him raise their voice in free praise of the Creator”[240]. This
dimension makes it possible for man to be part of the material world, but not as in a prison or in exile. It
is not proper to despise bodily life; rather “man ... is obliged to regard his body as good and honourable
since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day”[241]. Because of this bodily dimension,
however, following the wound of sin, man experiences the rebellion of his body and the perverse
inclinations of his heart; he must always keep careful watch over these lest he become enslaved to them
and become a victim of a purely earthly vision of life.
Through his spirituality man moves beyond the realm of mere things and plunges into the innermost
structure of reality. When he enters into his own heart, that is, when he reflects on his destiny, he
discovers that he is superior to the material world because of his unique dignity as one who converses
with God, under whose gaze he makes decisions about his life. In his inner life he recognizes that the
person has “a spiritual and immortal soul” and he knows that the person is not merely “a speck of
nature or a nameless constituent of the city of man”[242].
129. Therefore, man has two different characteristics: he is a material being, linked to this world by
his body, and he is a spiritual being, open to transcendence and to the discovery of “more penetrating
truths”, thanks to his intellect, by which “he shares in the light of the divine mind”[243]. The Church
affirms: “The unity of soul and body is so profound that one has to consider the soul to be the ‘form' of
the body: i.e., it is because of its spiritual soul that the body made of matter becomes a living, human
body; spirit and matter, in man, are not two natures united, but rather their union forms a single
nature”[244]. Neither the spiritualism that despises the reality of the body nor the materialism that
considers the spirit a mere manifestation of the material do justice to the complex nature, to the totality
or to the unity of the human being.
B. OPENNESS TO TRANSCENDENCE AND UNIQUENESS OF THE PERSON
a. Open to transcendence
130. Openness to transcendence belongs to the human person: man is open to the infinite and to all
created beings. He is open above all to the infinite — God — because with his intellect and will he raises
himself above all the created order and above himself, he becomes independent from creatures, is free
in relation to created things and tends towards total truth and the absolute good. He is open also to
others, to the men and women of the world, because only insofar as he understands himself in
reference to a “thou” can he say “I”. He comes out of himself, from the self-centred preservation of his
own life, to enter into a relationship of dialogue and communion with others.
The human person is open to the fullness of being, to the unlimited horizon of being. He has in
himself the ability to transcend the individual particular objects that he knows, thanks effectively to his
openness to unlimited being. In a certain sense the human soul is — because of its cognitive dimension
— all things: “all immaterial things enjoy a certain infiniteness, insofar as they embrace everything, or
because it is a question of the essence of a spiritual reality that functions as a model and likeness of
everything, as is the case with God, or because it has a likeness to everything or is ‘in act' like the Angels
or ‘in potential' like souls”[245].
b. Unique and unrepeatable
131. Man exists as a unique and unrepeatable being, he exists as an “I” capable of self-
understanding, self-possession and self-determination. The human person is an intelligent and conscious
being, capable of reflecting on himself and therefore of being aware of himself and his actions.
However, it is not intellect, consciousness and freedom that define the person, rather it is the person
who is the basis of the acts of intellect, consciousness and freedom. These acts can even be absent, for
even without them man does not cease to be a person.
The human person, must always be understood in his unrepeatable and inviolable uniqueness. In
fact, man exists above all as a subjective entity, as a centre of consciousness and freedom, whose unique
life experiences, comparable to those of no one else, underlie the inadmissibility of any attempt to
reduce his status by forcing him into preconceived categories or power systems, whether ideological or
otherwise. This entails above all the requirement not only of simple respect on the part of others,
especially political and social institutions and their leaders with regard to every man and woman on the
earth, but even more, this means that the primary commitment of each person towards others, and
particularly of these same institutions, must be for the promotion and integral development of the
person.
c. Respect for human dignity
132. A just society can become a reality only when it is based on the respect of the transcendent
dignity of the human person. The person represents the ultimate end of society, by which it is ordered
to the person: “Hence, the social order and its development must invariably work to the benefit of the
human person, since the order of things is to be subordinate to the order of persons, and not the other
way around”[246]. Respect for human dignity can in no way be separated from obedience to this
principle. It is necessary to “consider every neighbour without exception as another self, taking into
account first of all his life and the means necessary for living it with dignity”[247]. Every political,
economic, social, scientific and cultural programme must be inspired by the awareness of the primacy of
each human being over society[248].
133. In no case, therefore, is the human person to be manipulated for ends that are foreign to his
own development, which can find complete fulfilment only in God and his plan of salvation: in fact, man
in his interiority transcends the universe and is the only creature willed by God for itself[249]. For this
reason neither his life nor the development of his thought, nor his good, nor those who are part of his
personal and social activities can be subjected to unjust restrictions in the exercise of their rights and
freedom.
The person cannot be a means for carrying out economic, social or political projects imposed by
some authority, even in the name of an alleged progress of the civil community as a whole or of other
persons, either in the present or the future. It is therefore necessary that public authorities keep careful
watch so that restrictions placed on freedom or any onus placed on personal activity will never become
harmful to personal dignity, thus guaranteeing the effective practicability of human rights. All this, once
more, is based on the vision of man as a person, that is to say, as an active and responsible subject of his
own growth process, together with the community to which he belongs.
134. Authentic social changes are effective and lasting only to the extent that they are based on
resolute changes in personal conduct. An authentic moralization of social life will never be possible
unless it starts with people and has people as its point of reference: indeed, “living a moral life bears
witness to the dignity of the person”[250]. It is obviously the task of people to develop those moral
attitudes that are fundamental for any society that truly wishes to be human (justice, honesty,
truthfulness, etc.), and which in no way can simply be expected of others or delegated to institutions. It
is the task of everyone, and in a special way of those who hold various forms of political, judicial or
professional responsibility with regard to others, to be the watchful conscience of society and the first to
bear witness to civil social conditions that are worthy of human beings.
C. THE FREEDOM OF THE HUMAN PERSON
a. The value and limits of freedom
135. Man can turn to good only in freedom, which God has given to him as one of the highest signs
of his image[251]: “For God has willed that man remain ‘under the control of his own decisions' (Sir
15:14), so that he can seek his Creator spontaneously, and come freely to utter and blissful perfection
through loyalty to Him. Hence man's dignity demands that he act according to a knowing and free choice
that is personally motivated and prompted from within, neither under blind internal impulse nor by
mere external pressure”[252].
Man rightly appreciates freedom and strives for it passionately: rightly does he desire and must
form and guide, by his own free initiative, his personal and social life, accepting personal responsibility
for it[253]. In fact, freedom not only allows man suitably to modify the state of things outside of himself,
but it also determines the growth of his being as a person through choices consistent with the true
good[254]. In this way man generates himself, he is father of his own being[255], he constructs the
social order[256].
136. Freedom is not contrary to man's dependence as a creature on God[257]. Revelation teaches
that the power to decide good and evil does not belong to man but to God alone (cf. Gen 2:16-17). “Man
is certainly free, inasmuch as he can understand and accept God's commands. And he possesses an
extremely far-reaching freedom, since he can eat ‘of every tree of the garden'. But his freedom is not
unlimited: it must halt before the ‘tree of the knowledge of good and evil', for it is called to accept the
moral law given by God. In fact, human freedom finds its authentic and complete fulfilment precisely in
the acceptance of that law”[258].
137. The proper exercise of personal freedom requires specific conditions of an economic, social,
juridic, political and cultural order that “are too often disregarded or violated. Such situations of
blindness and injustice injure the moral life and involve the strong as well as the weak in the temptation
to sin against charity. By deviating from the moral law man violates his own freedom, becomes
imprisoned within himself, disrupts neighbourly fellowship and rebels against divine truth”[259].
Removing injustices promotes human freedom and dignity: nonetheless, “the first thing to be done is to
appeal to the spiritual and moral capacities of the individual and to the permanent need for inner
conversion, if one is to achieve the economic and social changes that will truly be at the service of
man”[260].
b. The bond uniting freedom with truth and the natural law
138. In the exercise of their freedom, men and women perform morally good acts that are
constructive for the person and for society when they are obedient to truth, that is, when they do not
presume to be the creators and absolute masters of truth or of ethical norms[261]. Freedom in fact does
not have “its absolute and unconditional origin ... in itself, but in the life within which it is situated and
which represents for it, at one and the same time, both a limitation and a possibility. Human freedom
belongs to us as creatures; it is a freedom which is given as a gift, one to be received like a seed and to
be cultivated responsibly”[262]. When the contrary is the case, freedom dies, destroying man and
society[263].
139. The truth concerning good and evil is recognized in a practical and concrete manner by the
judgment of conscience, which leads to the acceptance of responsibility for the good accomplished and
the evil committed. “Consequently in the practical judgment of conscience, which imposes on the person
the obligation to perform a given act, the link between freedom and truth is made manifest. Precisely for
this reason conscience expresses itself in acts of ‘judgment' which reflect the truth about the good, and
not in arbitrary ‘decisions'. The maturity and responsibility of these judgments — and, when all is said
and done, of the individual who is their subject — are not measured by the liberation of the conscience
from objective truth, in favour of an alleged autonomy in personal decisions, but, on the contrary, by an
insistent search for truth and by allowing oneself to be guided by that truth in one's actions”[264].
140. The exercise of freedom implies a reference to a natural moral law, of a universal character,
that precedes and unites all rights and duties[265]. The natural law “is nothing other than the light of
intellect infused within us by God. Thanks to this, we know what must be done and what must be
avoided. This light or this law has been given by God to creation”[266]. It consists in the participation in
his eternal law, which is identified with God himself[267]. This law is called “natural” because the reason
that promulgates it is proper to human nature. It is universal, it extends to all people insofar as it is
established by reason. In its principal precepts, the divine and natural law is presented in the Decalogue
and indicates the primary and essential norms regulating moral life[268]. Its central focus is the act of
aspiring and submitting to God, the source and judge of everything that is good, and also the act of
seeing others as equal to oneself. The natural law expresses the dignity of the person and lays the
foundations of the person's fundamental duties[269].
141. In the diversity of cultures, the natural law unites peoples, enjoining common principles.
Although its application may require adaptations to the many different conditions of life according to
place, time and circumstances,[270] it remains immutable “under the flux of ideas and customs and
supports their progress ... Even when it is rejected in its very principles, it cannot be destroyed or
removed from the heart of man. It always rises again in the life of individuals and societies”[271].
Its precepts, however, are not clearly and immediately perceived by everyone. Religious and moral
truths can be known “by everyone with facility, with firm certainty and without the admixture of
error”[272] only with the help of Grace and Revelation. The natural law offers a foundation prepared by
God for the revealed law and Grace, in full harmony with the work of the Spirit[273].
142. The natural law, which is the law of God, cannot be annulled by human sinfulness[274]. It lays
the indispensable moral foundation for building the human community and for establishing the civil law
that draws its consequences of a concrete and contingent nature from the principles of the natural
law[275]. If the perception of the universality of the moral law is dimmed, people cannot build a true
and lasting communion with others, because when a correspondence between truth and good is lacking,
“whether culpably or not, our acts damage the communion of persons, to the detriment of each”[276].
Only freedom rooted in a common nature, in fact, can make all men responsible and enable them to
justify public morality. Those who proclaim themselves to be the sole measure of realities and of truth
cannot live peacefully in society with their fellow men and cooperate with them[277].
143. Freedom mysteriously tends to betray the openness to truth and human goodness, and too
often it prefers evil and being selfishly closed off, raising itself to the status of a divinity that creates good
and evil: “Although he was made by God in a state of holiness, from the very onset of his history man
abused his liberty, at the urging of the Evil One. Man set himself against God and sought to attain his
goal apart from God ... Often refusing to acknowledge God as his beginning, man has disrupted also his
proper relationship to his own ultimate goal as well as his whole relationship toward himself and others
and all created things”[278]. Human freedom needs therefore to be liberated. Christ, by the power of his
Paschal Mystery, frees man from his disordered love of self[279], which is the source of his contempt for
his neighbour and of those relationships marked by domination of others. Christ shows us that freedom
attains its fulfilment in the gift of self[280]. By his sacrifice on the cross, Jesus places man once more in
communion with God and his neighbour.
D. THE EQUAL DIGNITY OF ALL PEOPLE
144. “God shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34; cf. Rom 2:11; Gal 2:6; Eph 6:9), since all people have the
same dignity as creatures made in his image and likeness[281]. The Incarnation of the Son of God shows
the equality of all people with regard to dignity: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave
nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28; cf. Rom 10:12; 1
Cor 12:13, Col 3:11).
Since something of the glory of God shines on the face of every person, the dignity of every person
before God is the basis of the dignity of man before other men[282]. Moreover, this is the ultimate
foundation of the radical equality and brotherhood among all people, regardless of their race, nation,
sex, origin, culture, or class.
145. Only the recognition of human dignity can make possible the common and personal growth of
everyone (cf. Jas 2:1-9). To stimulate this kind of growth it is necessary in particular to help the least,
effectively ensuring conditions of equal opportunity for men and women and guaranteeing an objective
equality between the different social classes before the law[283].
Also in relations between peoples and States, conditions of equality and parity are prerequisites for
the authentic progress of the international community[284]. Despite the steps taken in this direction, it
must not forget that there still exist many inequalities and forms of dependence[285].
Together with equality in the recognition of the dignity of each person and of every people there
must also be an awareness that it will be possible to safeguard and promote human dignity only if this is
done as a community, by the whole of humanity. Only through the mutual action of individuals and
peoples sincerely concerned for the good of all men and women can a genuine universal brotherhood
be attained[286]; otherwise, the persistence of conditions of serious disparity and inequality will make
us all poorer.
146. “Male” and “female” differentiate two individuals of equal dignity, which does not however
reflect a static equality, because the specificity of the female is different from the specificity of the male,
and this difference in equality is enriching and indispensable for the harmony of life in society: “The
condition that will assure the rightful presence of woman in the Church and in society is a more
penetrating and accurate consideration of the anthropological foundation for masculinity and femininity
with the intent of clarifying woman's personal identity in relation to man, that is, a diversity yet mutual
complementarily, not only as it concerns roles to be held and functions to be performed, but also, and
more deeply, as it concerns her make-up and meaning as a person”[287].
147. Woman is the complement of man, as man is the complement of woman: man and woman
complete each other mutually, not only from a physical and psychological point of view, but also
ontologically. It is only because of the duality of “male” and “female” that the “human” being becomes a
full reality. It is the “unity of the two”[288], or in other words a relational “uni-duality”, that allows each
person to experience the interpersonal and reciprocal relationship as a gift that at the same time is a
mission: “to this ‘unity of the two' God has entrusted not only the work of procreation and family life,
but the creation of history itself”[289]. “The woman is ‘a helper' for the man, just as the man is ‘a helper'
for the woman!”[290]: in the encounter of man and woman a unitary conception of the human person is
brought about, based not on the logic of self-centredness and self-affirmation, but on that of love and
solidarity.
148. Persons with disabilities are fully human subjects, with rights and duties: “in spite of the
limitations and sufferings affecting their bodies and faculties, they point up more clearly the dignity and
greatness of man”[291]. Since persons with disabilities are subjects with all their rights, they are to be
helped to participate in every dimension of family and social life at every level accessible to them and
according to their possibilities.
The rights of persons with disabilities need to be promoted with effective and appropriate measures:
“It would be radically unworthy of man, and a denial of our common humanity, to admit to the life of
the community, and thus admit to work, only those who are fully functional. To do so would be to
practise a serious form of discrimination, that of the strong and healthy against the weak and sick”[292].
Great attention must be paid not only to the physical and psychological work conditions, to a just wage,
to the possibility of promotion and the elimination of obstacles, but also to the affective and sexual
dimensions of persons with disabilities: “They too need to love and to be loved, they need tenderness,
closeness and intimacy”[293], according to their capacities and with respect for the moral order, which
is the same for the non-handicapped and the handicapped alike.
E. THE SOCIAL NATURE OF HUMAN BEINGS
149. The human person is essentially a social being [294] because God, who created humanity,
willed it so[295]. Human nature, in fact, reveals itself as a nature of a being who responds to his own
needs. This is based on a relational subjectivity, that is, in the manner of a free and responsible being
who recognizes the necessity of integrating himself in cooperation with his fellow human beings, and
who is capable of communion with them on the level of knowledge and love. “A society is a group of
persons bound together organically by a principle of unity that goes beyond each one of them. As an
assembly that is at once visible and spiritual, a society endures through time: it gathers up the past and
prepares for the future”[296].
It is therefore necessary to stress that community life is a natural characteristic that distinguishes
man from the rest of earthly creatures. Social activity carries in itself a particular sign of man and of
humanity that of a person at work within a community of persons: this is the sign that determines man's
interior traits and in a sense constitutes his very nature[297]. This relational characteristic takes on, in
the light of faith, a more profound and enduring meaning. Made in the image and likeness of God (cf.
Gen 1:26), and made visible in the universe in order to live in society (cf. Gen 2:20,23) and exercise
dominion over the earth (cf. Gen 1:26,28- 30), the human person is for this reason called from the very
beginning to life in society: “God did not create man as a ‘solitary being' but wished him to be a 'social
being'. Social life therefore is not exterior to man: he can only grow and realize his vocation in relation
with others”[298].
150. The social nature of human beings does not automatically lead to communion among persons,
to the gift of self. Because of pride and selfishness, man discovers in himself the seeds of asocial
behaviour, impulses leading him to close himself within his own individuality and to dominate his
neighbour[299]. Every society worthy of the name can be sure that it stands in the truth when all of its
members, thanks to their ability to know what is good, are able to pursue it for themselves and for
others. It is out of love for one's own good and for that of others that people come together in stable
groups with the purpose of attaining a common good. The different human societies also must establish
among themselves relationships of solidarity, communication and cooperation, in the service of man
and the common good[300].
151. The social nature of human beings is not uniform but is expressed in many different ways. In
fact, the common good depends on a healthy social pluralism. The different components of society are
called to build a unified and harmonious whole, within which it is possible for each element to preserve
and develop its own characteristics and autonomy. Some components — such as the family, the civil
community and the religious community — respond more immediately to the intimate nature of man,
while others come about more on a voluntary basis. “To promote the participation of the greatest
number in the life of a society, the creation of voluntary associations and institutions must be
encouraged ‘on both national and international levels, which relate to economic and social goals, to
cultural and recreational activities, to sport, to various professions, and to political affairs'. This
‘socialization' also expresses the natural tendency for the sake of attaining objectives that exceed
individual capacities. It develops the qualities of the person, especially the sense of initiative and
responsibility, and helps guarantee his rights”[301].
