Vatican: Sex change, gender theory, surrogacy violate human dignity

Dignitas Infinita is a 2024 declaration on Catholic doctrine that outlines the nature of human dignity. Image: Screencap/EWTN
Through its newest document called Dignitas Infinita, or âInfinite Dignity,â the Catholic Church declares that gender-affirming surgery, or the idea that oneâs biological sex can be changed, and surrogacy are grave violations of human dignity, putting them on par with abortion, death penalty and euthanasia, which are acts that it says reject Godâs beautiful plan for human life.
Dignitas Infinita is a 2024 declaration on Catholic doctrine that outlines the nature of human dignity, explains manâs relationship with God and condemns modern-day violations of human dignity. As expected, this 20-page declaration received immediate criticism from those who argued against the Churchâs position on many of the issues covered.
The Jesuit pontiffâs outreach to the LGBTQ+ community is a hallmark of his pontificate. Yet Pope Francisâ approval of the new document makes it consistent with his thinking that the Church should welcome trans people and accompany them pastorally, but, in his mind, the so-called âgender ideologiesâ have no place in the Church.
The new document said God created man and woman as biologically different, and people must not tinker with that or try to âmake themselves like God.â
Dignitas InfinitaâA Synthesis
Pope Francisâ approval of Dignitas Infinita makes it consistent with his thinking that the Church should welcome trans people and accompany them pastorally, but âgender ideologiesâ have no place in the Church. FILE PHOTO (REUTERS/Todd Korol)
Allow me to present a synthesis of the new document, as requested by some Catholic and non-Catholic friends. The new document follows the method of the Second Vatican Council: A reading of the signs of the times and their interpretation in the light of the Gospel (Gaudium et Spes, 4).
IâSEEINGâThe signs of the times: Human dignity is under threat.
- POVERTY is âone of the greatest injustices in the contemporary worldâ (Dignitas Infinita, 36).
- WAR is âanother tragedy that denies human dignityâ and is always a âdefeat of humanityâ (38), to the point that âit is very difficult nowadays to invoke the rational criteria elaborated in earlier centuries to speak of the possibility of a just warâ (39).
Against life itself, the document mentions the following:
- ABORTION. The condemnation of abortion is strong: âAmong all the crimes that can be committed against life, procured abortion has characteristics that make it particularly serious and deplorable,â and reference is made to the fact that âthe defense of unborn life is closely linked to the defense of each and every other human rightâ (47).
- EUTHANASIA AND ASSISTED SUICIDE, confusingly defined by some laws as âdeath with dignity.â The document stresses that âsuffering does not cause the sick to lose their dignity, which is intrinsically and inalienably their ownâ (51).
- DEATH PENALTY âviolates the inalienable dignity of every person, regardless of the circumstancesâ (34).
Then the acts against the integrity of the human person are presented.
- âTRAVAIL OF MIGRANTS,â whose âlives are put at risk because they no longer have the means to start a family, to work or to feed themselvesâ (40).
- HUMAN TRAFFICKINGâalso slavery, prostitution and the selling of women and childrenâis described as âvile activity, a disgrace to our societies that claim to be civilizedâ (41).
- SEXUAL ABUSE leaves âdeep scars in the hearts of those who suffer it.â These are âsufferings that can last a lifetime and that no repentance can remedyâ (43).
- DISCRIMINATION AND VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMENâcoercive abortions, which affect both mother and child, often to satisfy the selfishness of malesâ and âthe practice of polygamyâ (45).
- SURROGACY, by means of which âthe immensely worthy child becomes a mere object.â
- âTHE MARKETING OF HUMAN ORGANS, slave labor, including prostitution, the drug and weapons trade, terrorism and international organized crimeâ (42).
- SUBHUMAN LIVING CONDITIONS, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation and degrading working conditions where individuals are treated as mere tools for profit rather than free and responsible persons.
- MUTILATION, physical and mental torture, and undue psychological pressures are all offenses against human dignity.
- DIGITAL VIOLENCE. âNew forms of violence are spreading through social media,â such as cyberbullying, and âthe internet is also a channel for spreading pornography and the exploitation of persons for sexual purposes or through gamblingâ (61).
Gender Theory is given special attention.
- âEvery sign of unjust discriminationâ against homosexual persons âis to be carefully avoided, particularly any form of aggression and violence.â
- In some places, ânot a few people are âimprisoned, tortured, and even deprived of the good of life solely because of their sexual orientationâ (55).
- However, Gender Theory is âextremely dangerous since it cancels differences in its claim to make everyone equalâ (56). âHuman life in all its dimensions, both physical and spiritual, is a gift from God.â
- âDesiring a personal self-determination, as gender theory prescribes ⊠amounts to a concession to the age-old temptation to make oneself Godâ (57).
- Gender Theory âintends to deny the greatest possible difference that exists between living beings: Sexual differenceâ (58). Therefore, âall attempts to obscure reference to the ineliminable sexual difference between man and womanâ are âto be rejectedâ (59).
- SEX CHANGE ârisks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conceptionâ (60).
IIâDISCERNMENT in the light of the Gospel and Christian principles.
The document provides the fundamental principles that cover human dignity.
- IMAGO DEI. âIn the light of Revelation, the Church resolutely reiterates and confirmsâ the âontological dignity of the human person, created in the image and likeness of God and redeemed in Jesus Christâ (1).
- HUMAN DIGNITY. âInalienable dignityâ is a âgiftâ and, therefore, present in âan unborn child, an unconscious person, or an older person in distressâ (9).
- âThe Church proclaims the equal dignity of all people, regardless of their living conditions or qualitiesâ (17).
- PERSONAL DIGNITYâ TO âHUMAN DIGNITY.â It is not correct to prefer the expression âpersonal dignityâ to âhuman dignity.â It is a mistake to understand a person as âone who is capable of reasoningâ (24).
- It is wrong to say that âthe unborn child would not have personal dignity, nor would the older person who is dependent upon others, nor would an individual with mental disabilities.â
- Au contraire, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH insists that the dignity of every human person, precisely because it is intrinsic, remains in all circumstancesâ (24), from conception to death, from cradle to the grave.
IIIâACTINGâChristians are called to action.
- The Declaration ends by urging that ârespect for the dignity of the human person beyond all circumstances be placed at the center of the commitment to the common good and at the center of every legal systemâ (64).
It is my personal conviction that the new document says that it is time for all Christians to stand up and defend the image of God in every human person.
Dr. JosĂ© Mario Bautista Maximiano is the author of Why Remain a Catholic (St. Paulâs Publication, 1993) and Spiritual Man (St. Paulâs Publication, 1994). Email: jomaximiano@gmail.com.