Dignity Of The Human Person PDF

# Dignity of the Human Person ## Regardless of... - age - a photo of four children - a photo of three elderly women laughing together - gender - a group photo of four women - a photo of a man in a protest holding up a sign that reads: "Sharing and Justice will bring peace" - religion -...

# Dignity of the Human Person ## Regardless of... - age - a photo of four children - a photo of three elderly women laughing together - gender - a group photo of four women - a photo of a man in a protest holding up a sign that reads: "Sharing and Justice will bring peace" - religion - a photo of Buddhist monks bowing in prayer - a photo of a person holding rosary beads in prayer - color - a group photo of four white children - a group photo of four black children ## Fundamentally Equal But Unique There is a fundamental equality among human persons by virtue of our common dignity as persons. Equality allows us to take an interest in everything that is human and to understand the moral obligations which inform our common humanity. However, human persons are sufficiently diverse so that we must also take into account the originality and uniqueness of each person. This means that everyone shares common features of humanity, however each one does so differently and to different degrees. ## I. Notions About Human Dignity 1. Human dignity = person's possession of basic rights: - The essential rights to clothing and shelter. - The right to free self-expression within the context of social cooperation. - The right to basic equality before the law. 2. Human dignity = basic respect of persons - The respect that will allow them to develop their own potential. - To make some personal contribution to common goals and to feel at home in an environment in which they are known and acknowledged. 3. Human dignity = human being has a personal worth - The task of society is to acknowledge and develop that worth. 4. Human dignity = emphasizes that social or biological handicaps affecting an individual do not lessen his or her personal worth. 5. Human dignity = does not admit degrees and is universal regardless of gender, age, religion, creed, race, or color. 6. Human dignity = man possessing freedom and reason, therefore, cannot be used as an object or as a means for an end. ## II. Human Dignity According To Our Christian Faith "God created man in his image, in the divine image he created him, male and female, he created them." Genesis 1:27. ## Implications 1. Humans share in the divine image of God. * We participate in God's divine Trinitarian nature and are called to belong in the community of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. * We are called to be in communion with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as children of God. 2. Humans are called to live in community: * We are communitarian at our core. * We are called to live as brothers and sisters. * We are called to live in justice and respect/abide the laws of the community. ## III. Biblical Sources of Human Dignity ### Old Testament 1. **Exodus Story** "I have seen the misery of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey." Exodus 3:4-8. #### Implications: - God has pity for human suffering, who wishes people to be liberated and live a life of dignity. - All forms of enslavement and oppression are a mockery of God's will as creator of humanity in his own image. - Human suffering is not the will of God but rather something which must be abolished. - God's will is done on earth when the conditions for truly humane existence are created. 2. **Story of the Prophets** "Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good: seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow." Isaiah 1:15-17. #### Consequences of the Monarchy - Power became centralized in the monarchy. - Increasing gap between the rich and the poor, as fortunes were amassed in large economic projects of the monarchy and more and more people became the laboring poor, subject to the whims of political and economic masters. - This situation gave ample opportunity for the abuse of power and privilege for the elimination of human rights. - Religion was more centered around the temple cult and elaborate liturgical and sacrificial rites, ignoring the moral demands of the covenant. #### The Above Situation Provoked a Response From the Prophets: - For, Isaiah, the sacrificial liturgy could only be authentically offered by those who showed their fidelity to the covenant by respecting the dignity of the downtrodden and marginalized - The abuses of human dignity in the various forms of exploitation characteristic of the Israelite state and society were a rejection of the covenant and a betrayal of Israel's true identity. #### Implications: - True worship of Yahweh is to help unburden the poor from their oppression - Goods of creation is for the use of everyone, not only for the few. - Power is for the benefit of promoting justice and the common good. ### New Testament 1. **Gospels** "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, and to let the oppressed go free and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord." Luke 4:18-19. #### Jesus Anchored the Proclamation of the Gospel for the Liberation of the Poor (Slaves, Laborers, Sinners, Women, Children): - His proclamation of the Kingdom is not about an authoritarian and tyrannical authority. - He draws on the prophetic hopes of a just King, who could mediate the justice of God. - The image of the Kingdom of God implies an environment in which good can flourish and in which every human being can find peace, justice, and freedom. - He proclaimed a blessing for those who are deprived: - "Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. - Blessed are you, who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. - Blessed are you, who are now weeping for you will laugh..." (Luke 6:20-20) - He sacrificed his life for our salvation which only shows our worth as children of God. - The ultimate meaning of human dignity is that all human beings are destined for eternal life, since they share their humanity with the One who rose from the dead. - All human beings can share in the resurrection of Jesus. ## IV. Human Rights and Dignity - Human rights may be defined as those fundamental rights of man essential for the exercise of human dignity. - The rights are to things, powers or privileges to which individuals have a just claim or are entitled to under the natural law as a consequence of being human. - They are inalienable patrimony of all irrespective of nationality, color, language, or creed. - They are inviolable in the sense that they cannot be suppressed without moral responsibility - Respect for these rights becomes the test whether human dignity is being respected or not. - Human rights belong to human beings not because any government grant these to them. ### Two Kinds of Rights - Natural- rights that human nature confers to the person. - Legal- rights spelled out by positive national and international laws. ## V. Human Rights and Dimensions of the Human Person ### Physical - Every person has a right to physical integrity and security and in the first place the right to life. This right outlaws unjustified killing and torture and the violation of the person's sexual integrity. - Human beings have a right to a basic minimum of the material necessities for the preservation of physical life. ### Spiritual - Human persons have a right to freedom of conscience, belief and worship and the right to belong to a religious community. - They have a right to educate their children in their own religious tradition and to communicate their religious beliefs in public. ### Moral - The moral rights of the human person apply particularly to the rights of conscience. The rights of conscience would also include the right to be able to form conscience. - This would involve the right to information relevant to the formation of conscience and the right to education that fostered the development of conscience. ### Personal - The rights to our own individuality include the right to freedom of movement, the right to freedom of choice of employment, the right to marry and the right to choose a marriage partner. - Negatively, the state is obliged to refrain from any restriction of these rights. ### Social - Right to a nationality and to the status of being a member of society. This prohibits all laws depriving people of citizenship. ### Sexual - The right to marry and to have children. - Prohibits sexual discrimination, forced marriages ### Intellectual - Right to truth and the right to develop intellectual abilities - Prohibits any unjustified censorship and propaganda. - Obliges the state to provide for the education of the young. ### Economic - Right to own property, the right to enter into business contracts, the right to buy and sell, the right to work and just compensation. - The right to form unions ### Political - Right to vote, to form political parties, to stand for political office, to run for public office ### Cultural - Right to use and foster the language of one's cultural group - Right to foster one's cultural identity without persecution or harassment. ### Artistic - Right to free artistic expression and the right to an opportunity to develop artistic capacities. - Obliges the state and other authorities to provide opportunities for the development of artistic capacities. ## Activity - How are these rights violated? - Give examples of human rights violation in the Philippines. - Looking at the prophets and Jesus as examples, how can we promote human rights in our community? 3 feasible actions... ### Conclusion - Thank you and God bless you. - Prepared by: CONCEPCION LIZA V. COROTAN - Institute of Religion - University of Sto. Tomas.