Life & Dignity of the Human Person
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The Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. This belief is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching. In our society, human life is under direct attack from abortion and euthanasia. The value of human life is being threatened by cloning, embryonic stem cell research, and the use of the death penalty. The intentional targeting of civilians in war or terrorist attacks is always wrong. Catholic teaching also calls on us to work to avoid war. Nations must protect the right to life by finding increasingly effective ways to prevent conflicts and resolve them by peaceful means. We believe that every person is precious, that people are more important than things, and that the measure of every institution is whether it threatens or enhances the life and dignity of the human person.¹
More on Life and Dignity of the Human Person from the USCCB
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH:RESPECT FOR HUMAN LIFE
BEGINNING OF LIFE | BIOETHICS AND STEM CELL RESEARCH | DEATH PENALTY | END OF LIFE | DISABILITIES | PEACEClick the Title of each section to learn more about the issue on the USCCB website.
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BEGINNING OF LIFE
Take action
- Participate in the annual March for Life, either the national march in Washington D.C or the local march in St. Augustine.
- Donate your time or needed materials to a pregnancy center in your area
- Participate in an AHG troop and work toward reaching the Respect Life Patch
"Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person—among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life… Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law… Since it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as far as possible, like any other human being."
Catechism of the Catholic Church 2270, 2271, 227
updated Aug. 10, 2017TOP
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BIOETHICS & STEM CELL RESEARCH
Take action
- Support Adult Stem Cell Research
- Write to your legislators on the need for ethical research practices
"The issue of stem cell research does not force us to choose between science and ethics, much less between science and religion. It presents a choice as tohow our society will pursue scientific and medical progress. Will we ignore ethical norms and use some of the most vulnerable human beings as objects, undermining the respect for human life that is at the foundation of the healing arts? Such a course, even if it led to rapid technical progress, would be a regress in our efforts to build a society that is fully human. Instead we must pursue progress in ethically responsible ways that respect the dignity of each human being. Only this will produce cures and treatments that everyone can live with."
On Embryonic Stem Cell Research: A Statement of the USCCB, 2008
updated Dec. 21, 2016
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DEATH PENALTY
Take action
- Take part in a Prayer Vigil happening in your area scheduled the day of an execution
- Write to your state legislators and urge them to abolish the death penalty
- Host a Death Penalty workshop at your parish
"Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor. If however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity with the dignity of the human person. Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm without definitively taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself - the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity are very rare, if not practically nonexistent."
Catechism of the Catholic Church 2267
updated Dec. 21, 2016
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END OF LIFE
Take action
- Volunteer at a local nursing home or hospital
- Cardinal Dolan Calls for Renewed Fight Against Doctor-Assisted Suicide
- FAQ's about Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide
- Learn more about personal experinces like this one
As Catholic leaders and moral teachers, we believe that life is the most basic gift of a loving God--a gift over which we have stewardship but not absolute dominion. Our tradition, declaring a moral obligation to care for our own life and health and to seek such care from others, recognizes that we are not morally obligated to use all available medical procedures in every set of circumstances. But that tradition clearly and strongly affirms that as a responsible steward of life one must never directly intend to cause one's own death, or the death of an innocent victim, by action or omission. As the Second Vatican Council declared, "euthanasia and willful suicide" are "offenses against life itself" which "poison civilization"; they "debase the perpetrators more than the victims and militate against the honor of the creator"
Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World,
Statement on Euthanasia, 1991updated Dec. 21, 2016
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DISABILITIES
Take action
- Take steps to ensure that your parish and liturgies are accessible to all peoples.
- Workshops for Interpreters
- Advocate for public policies that promote the rights of those with disabilities, especially the unborn
- Educate yourself and your parish on how to be a welcoming, inclusive community
"Our faith requires a greater sensitivity and commitment to our fellow humans who suffer from mental illness as well as a greater responsibility on our part to recognize their importance to the community and especially communities of faith. In a society that judges a person on the value of what he or she produces, the person living with mental illness is easily seen merely as a burden on society. The temptation is to isolate or marginalize. As Christians, then, we are called unceasingly to affirm their dignity as human beings made in the image and likeness of God, and to recognize their value to the community."
”The Person with Mental Illness: Bearing God’s Image”,
by Rev. Richard Gill, L.C.
updated Dec. 21, 2016TOP
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PEACE
Take action
- Write to your legislators about the need for a peaceful resolution to conflict
"Respect for and development of human life requires peace. Peace is not merely the absence of war, and it is not limited to maintaining a balance of powers between adversaries. Peace cannot be attained on earth without safeguarding the goods of persons, free communication among men, respect for the dignity of persons and peoples, and the assiduous practice of fraternity. Peace is 'the tranquility of order.' Peace is the work of justice and the effect of charity… Those who renounce violence and bloodshed and, in order to safeguard human rights, make use of those means of defense available to the weakest, bear witness to evangelical charity, provided they do so without harming the rights and obligations of other men and societies. They bear legitimate witness to the gravity of the physical and moral risks of recourse to violence, with all its destruction and death."
Catechism of the Catholic Church: 2304, 2306
updated Dec. 21, 2016
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¹Seven Themes of Catholic Social Teaching, from the USCCB Website, Aug 1, 2016
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