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The Vatican’s new document, Dignitas Infinitas, published by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) begins, “Every human person possesses an infinite dignity, inalienably grounded in his or her very being, which prevails in and beyond every circumstance, state, or situation the person may ever encounter.”
I believe this statement to be false, because only God is infinite. He made human beings in his image and unto his likeness. Being the image of the infinite one does not bestow an infinite dignity upon us, but does communicate an intrinsic dignity as “very good.” It derives from the infinite one and is ordered to him as its end, making us to yearn for his infinity as our only true completion.
The claim of “infinite dignity” stands central to the framing of the document due to its very title. The “grounding” of this dignity in our “very being” only aggravates the concern. A rational creature, by nature, stands above other beings. Our nature is ordered to the infinite God, however, only by grace, which elevates our nature enabling it to participate in the life of the infinite God. But, this differs from an intrinsically infinite dignity rooted in our nature itself.
The Catechism on Infinity and Creatures
The Catechism of the Catholic Church also begins with a reference to an ‘infinite’ reality. It speaks, however, of God: “God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life.” It only uses words related to ‘infinity’ thirty times but in ways that point to God as the only infinite One and human beings as participating in his dignity in a created and finite way.
The Catechism’s second usage of infinity does speak of human dignity in relation to infinite, but only as a direction toward God:
Continued below.
I believe this statement to be false, because only God is infinite. He made human beings in his image and unto his likeness. Being the image of the infinite one does not bestow an infinite dignity upon us, but does communicate an intrinsic dignity as “very good.” It derives from the infinite one and is ordered to him as its end, making us to yearn for his infinity as our only true completion.
The claim of “infinite dignity” stands central to the framing of the document due to its very title. The “grounding” of this dignity in our “very being” only aggravates the concern. A rational creature, by nature, stands above other beings. Our nature is ordered to the infinite God, however, only by grace, which elevates our nature enabling it to participate in the life of the infinite God. But, this differs from an intrinsically infinite dignity rooted in our nature itself.
The Catechism on Infinity and Creatures
The Catechism of the Catholic Church also begins with a reference to an ‘infinite’ reality. It speaks, however, of God: “God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life.” It only uses words related to ‘infinity’ thirty times but in ways that point to God as the only infinite One and human beings as participating in his dignity in a created and finite way.
The Catechism’s second usage of infinity does speak of human dignity in relation to infinite, but only as a direction toward God:
Here are the Catechism’s other usages, listed by paragraph number, which further proves the point that God’s creatures can only reflect and point to his infinite perfection. I’ve highlighted words that direct us to the proper understanding of the relationship of the perfection of creatures to the infinite perfection of God.The human person: With his openness to truth and beauty, his sense of moral goodness, his freedom and the voice of his conscience, with his longings for the infinite and for happiness, man questions himself about God’s existence. In all this he discerns signs of his spiritual soul. The soul, the “seed of eternity we bear in ourselves, irreducible to the merely material,”9 can have its origin only in God.
CCC par. 33.
Continued below.
Do Human Beings Have Infinite Dignity?
The Vatican’s new document, Dignitas Infinitas, published by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) begins, “Every human person possesses an infinite dignity, inalienably gro…
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