New Vatican document addresses abortion, LGBTQ, death penalty, sex trafficking and more

It is no secret the Church has many priests, leaders, as well as public figures such as President Joe Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi that prominently promote their support for abortion and LGBTQ lifestyles. The new document, however, from the Vatican reinforces the Church’s long held stance on these issues and deals a blow to the hopes of the radical left in getting those teachings changed. The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) released a new Vatican document on Monday, April 8, condemning abortion, gender ideology, and transgender surgery.

The document released says these beliefs are contrary to human dignity. It also includes other social justice issues and advocates for these issues to be considered “equally important”. “First, while there has been a growing awareness of human dignity, many misunderstandings of the concept still distort its meaning. Some people propose that it is better to use the expression ‘personal dignity’ (and the rights ‘of the person’) instead of ‘human dignity’ (and the rights ‘of man’) since they understand a ‘person’ to be only ‘one who is capable of reasoning.’ They then argue that dignity and rights are deduced from the individual’s capacity for knowledge and freedom, which not all humans possess. Thus, according to them, the unborn child would not have personal dignity, nor would the older person who is dependent upon others, nor would an individual with mental disabilities. On the contrary, the Church insists that the dignity of every human person, precisely because it is intrinsic, remains ‘in all circumstances’. The recognition of this dignity cannot be contingent upon a judgment about a person’s ability to understand and act freely; otherwise, it would not be inherent in the person, independent of the individual’s situation, and thus deserving unconditional respect. Only by recognizing an intrinsic and inalienable dignity in every human being can we guarantee a secure and inviolable foundation for that quality…the only prerequisite for speaking about the dignity inherent in the person is their membership in the human species, whereby ‘the rights of the person are the rights of man.’” (Dignitas Infinita)

In this latest document, the Vatican reaffirmed that every individual, including those within the LGBTQ community, has dignity and should be treated as having dignity. It rejects any discrimination, hatred, or violence against those individuals. It does, however, reaffirm the Church’s teaching that it is against the human nature for which we have been created and is not endorsed or accepted by the Church.

“Regarding gender theory, whose specific coherence is the subject of considerable debate among experts, the Church recalls that human life in all its dimensions, both physical and spiritual, is a gift from God. This gift is to be accepted with gratitude and placed at the service of the good. Desiring a personal self-determination, as gender theory prescribes, apart from this fundamental truth that human life is a gift, amounts to a concession to the age-old temptation to make oneself God, entering into competition with the true God of love revealed to us in the Gospel. Another prominent aspect of gender theory is that it intends to deny the greatest possible difference that exists between living beings: sexual difference. This foundational difference is not only the greatest imaginable difference but is also the most beautiful and most powerful of them. In the male-female couple, this difference achieves the most marvelous of reciprocities. It thus becomes the source of that miracle that never ceases to surprise us: the arrive of new human beings in the world. The document also goes into detail regarding rejecting transgender surgery as well as the utilizing of newly created pronouns and identifiers to reject “male” and “female” descriptors.

The exhaustive document highlights important and social issues such as poverty, sex trafficking, sex abuse, mental disabilities, and the death penalty. In addressing human dignity, the document also rejects the death penalty due to it being seen by the Church as a violation of human dignity. “Here, one should also mention the death penalty, for this also violates the inalienable dignity of every person, regardless of the circumstances. In this regard, we must recognize that ‘the firm rejection of the death penalty shows to what extent it is possible to recognize the inalienable dignity of every human being and to accept that he or she has a place in this universe. If I do not deny that dignity to the worst of criminals, I will not deny it to anyone.’”

There has been a lot of speculation and gossip regarding the belief the Vatican, led by Pope Francis, would change the Church’s teachings on crucial social issues such as LGBTQ and abortion. It is evident from the latest document the Vatican continues to stand upon the foundational and vital teachings that lead us to a life pleasing to the Lord. One key takeaway from the totality of the document is the Church’s resolve to continue emphasizing the recognition of every individual having dignity and worth. This is something to never be missed regardless of an individual’s belief about social issues. The person will never lose dignity because that dignity and worth has been created, provided, and sealed by God.