Thomas Griffin 6/4/24 (From the May Issue)
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A large mission of the Empty Tomb Project is to give readers ongoing access to the latest Church news while remaining steadfast to the truth. Our topics are meant to feed readers in a spiritual way as well as in a way that gives courage to those who desire to remain courageous and stand by the truth. Jesus Christ, and the Catholic Church, is counter-cultural. What we preach as true is no longer held as important. Some would say that what we hold to be true is dangerous. We know it is quite the opposite.
St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that the truth is the conformity between one’s mind and reality. To conceive a thought or opinion about reality does not mean that one’s claim is true. In fact, it could very well be wrong. We verify the truth of a claim based on reviewing the evidence in the real world. Remaining firm in the truth allows us to uplift human dignity.
Furthermore, Jesus claimed to be the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). It is through Christ that we come to greater clarity on who we are as human beings and who God is calling us to be. Through his way become holy. Abiding by his teachings grounds us in the truth because God cannot make an error. God made us, so trusting in his words can only benefit us.
We have covered some headlines that have arisen as a result of words from Pope Francis as well as documents from the Vatican. Through it all, the Church, Christ and the empty tomb claims that truth is unchanging. Women will not become priests, that is impossible. Marriage is only between one man and one woman – that could never change. One’s gender is based on the biological sex one is born with. It is based on his or her chromosomes – that is scientific fact.
In one of the newest documents by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) the many truth claims of the Church are made even more clear. Dignitas Infinita was published in April and explains the infinite human dignity that each person is born with. Its opening line states: “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” (DI #1).
The document quickly makes a clarification on what it means about human dignity in order to avoid any confusion. Some might read the words that the Church teaches that all people have human dignity (no matter what) and think that means people can do whatever they wish. This is not the case. “This (possible confusion) brings us to recognize the possibility of a fourfold distinction of the concept of dignity: ontological dignity, moral dignity, social dignity, and existential dignity” (DI #7).
We will concern ourselves mostly with ontological and moral dignity. Social dignity refers to the quality of one’s living conditions. The extreme poverty in which many people live around the globe means that they are living in an “undignified” way (DI #8). Existential dignity refers to the fact that some people are living in perpetual states (addiction, serious illness, violent family environments, etc.) that bring about the discussion of living a “dignified” life. The need to help those in either of these situations comes from the ontological and infinite dignity of every single human person.
One’s ontological dignity is determined by one’s being. Since all human beings are made by God, in His image and likeness, their worth can never be taken from them. This type of dignity is infinite because God is absolutely infinite and His love is unconditional and unending. We see this revealed in the emblem of our faith, the cross. The cross shows us our worth: you are worth God’s life.
Moral dignity means that human beings are given free will. At times, we use our freedom well and we act according to our nature (the good). Other times, for a variety of reasons, we choose to use our freedom poorly and we violate the human dignity of ourselves and/or others. This type of dignity is paramount for Dignitas Infinita and the Catholic Church. God loves each and every person infinitely – He died for them. No one can ever lose their human dignity because their worth is found in Who made them.
That is not contradictory to the fact that, as the declaration explains, abortion, euthanasia, gender theory, sex changes, and many other issues are violations of human dignity. I love my children more than words can communicate. However, my kids often mess up and are in need of correction. They need the help of their father and mother in order to discover what is good for them. Our culture needs the same guidance and Christ desires to give it.
Abortion is the murder of innocent and defenseless children. Euthanasia claims that your worth decreases with your age and health. Gender theory and sex change is “a concession to the age-old temptation to make oneself God” (DI #57). These violations of the infinite dignity of the human person are teachings of the Church that are rooted in natural law, Scripture and the preaching of Jesus Christ.
While the culture might be championing them as freedoms and rights that human beings ought to have, we know better. The light from the empty tomb promotes the truth of free will. That freedom and sacrificial love must always work hand-in-hand. That true freedom lies not in what one can do but in what one ought to do.
Thomas Griffin is the chairperson of the religion department at a Catholic high school on Long Island where he lives with his wife and two sons. He has a masters degree in theology and is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Empty Tomb Project: The Magazine.
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