The Declaration Dignitas Infinita (DI), from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (here), addresses human dignity and human rights, including their serious violations. The topics are broad, coveting poverty, war, migrants, human trafficking, sexual abuse, violence against women, abortion, the death penalty, euthanasia, people with disabilities, and digital violence. The most commented issues were the criticisms of gender theory, so-called sex change and surrogacy motherhood, also known as altruistic surrogacy.
The document acknowledges that the list of chosen topics is not exhaustive, but aims to express the thought on human dignity that arises from the Gospel, without exhausting something so rich and decisive. The Church holds a deep conviction that evangelization cannot be separated from the promotion of a dignified life, because the human being, created by God and redeemed by Jesus Christ, must be treated with love and respect due to their inalienable dignity.
The thoughts of the Popes on these topics are presented concisely. An important new element is the call for the decriminalization of homosexuality, as imprisoning, torturing, and killing people because of their sexual orientation is contrary to human dignity.
Regarding gender theory, strong disagreements are expressed over its supposed intention to erase human differences in order to make everyone the same, even denying sexual difference. Concerning this theory, whose scientific validity is widely debated within the expert community, the Church asserts that human life, in all its physical and spiritual components, is a gift from God that must be received with gratitude and dedicated to the service of good. To want to dispose of oneself, as gender theory supposedly prescribes, without considering human life as a gift, is to succumb to the age-old temptation of humans to become like God, competing with the true God of love revealed in the Gospel.
The human body shares in the dignity of the image of God. This must be especially remembered when it comes to sex change. We are called to take care of our humanity, accepting and respecting it as it was created. Hence, according to the Declaration, “any intervention for sex change normally risks threatening the unique dignity that the person has received from the moment of conception.” This does not apply to people with genital anomalies from birth or childhood (intersex individuals), where interventions to resolve such anomalies do not constitute a sex change (DI, n. 60).
Gender theory is indeed widely debated among specialists. In truth, there is no unified and comprehensive explanation akin to a theory. There are studies that relate anatomical sex, self-recognition as male or female, gender roles, and sexual orientation. The common denominator of these studies is that there is not always a necessary coherence between the sex assigned at birth, the recognition and experience of one’s identity as male or female, and sexual desire and practice. It should not be assumed that all men and women are cisgender (identifying with the sex assigned at birth) and heterosexual, according to a simplistic binary model. There are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (or simply trans) people, and others such as intersex individuals, represented in the LGBT+ acronym, which reflects the complex human diversity related to sexual orientation and gender identity. Nor should the various forms of discrimination and violence that often oppress and devastate these people be ignored.
There is neuroscientific research indicating that the biology of sexuality is not limited to the genitals and anatomy. Without disregarding the interaction of psychosocial factors, the brain plays an important role in gender identity and sexual orientation. In the case of transgender individuals, the brain and self-perception do not correspond to the genitals and the rest of the body. A person may feel like a man in a woman’s body or feel like a woman in a man’s body. This incongruence is called gender dysphoria, which causes distress and often leads to anguish and depression. In this and many other cases, it should be recognized that being LGBT+ is neither a personal choice nor an individualistic option.
A renowned researcher in gender studies, Judith Butler, stated that it is not so important to produce new formulations of gender, but rather to build a world where people can live and breathe within their own sexuality and gender. For her, it is necessary that existing complexity be recognized and that the fear of marginalization, pathologization, and violence be radically eliminated (here).
From this perspective, therefore, it is not a question of canceling out human and sexual differences, nor of disposing of oneself without considering human life as a divine gift. On the contrary, it’s about duly recognizing these differences that are constitutive of every human being. For those who believe in God, this is part of his creation. Sex reassignment does threaten human dignity. However, the procedure of transsexualization in a transgender person, aimed at sexual reassignment to correct an existing gender dysphoria, is something different. It may be as necessary as intervention on intersex people.
Pope Francis has had several meetings with LGBT+ individuals. In one such meeting, Alessia Nobile, a trans woman who has completed her transition, gave him a book in which she recounts her own life story. The title is The Invisible Girl (La bambina invisibile), which aptly represents the struggle of many trans individuals before their transition. The Pope took the book and told her: “Great. You did very well to write your story.” He then advised Alessia to always be herself, but not to get caught up in prejudice against the Church (here).
To avoid prejudice against the Church and even within it, it should be remembered that transgender individuals who have completed their transition can be baptized, becoming sacramentally children of God and members of the Church. They can also serve as sponsors for marriage and baptism. In the doctrine of the Catholic Church, as expressed in the Second Vatican Council, there is an order of importance among its teachings called the hierarchy of truths. According to the connection of each teaching with the foundation of the Christian faith, some are more important than others because they are closely linked to this foundation. Jesus himself, when discussing morality, indicated which is the greatest commandment and how his disciples should be recognized among men.
It is necessary to consider the hierarchy of truths also in relation to LGBT+ individuals. When asked what is the most important thing these people need to know about God, Pope Francis’s response is: “God is Father and does not reject any of his children. And God’s ‘style’ is ‘closeness, mercy, and tenderness.’ Along this path, you will encounter God.” (here). It is necessary to have this sense of priority, without which there is a risk of imprisoning people in secondary issues and extinguishing the Spirit.
Dignitas Infinita rightly aims to express, without exhausting, the thought on human dignity that springs from the Gospel. It reaffirms the fundamental right to religious freedom. Greets the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on its 75th anniversary. Recalls John Paul II’s stance in favor of equality between spouses in family law. In all of this, there is an important history of change and evolution of doctrine within the Church.
In the past, religious freedom for non-Catholics was deemed unacceptable and was therefore harshly suppressed. In the early 20th century, Pope Pius X asserted that humans are not born fully free and equal in dignity and rights, but are divided into princes and vassals, nobles and commoners, wise and ignorant. Decades later, Pius XI taught that the subjection of women to their husbands is a law firmly established by God, essential to the family, and therefore it is not lawful to subvert or harm it at any time or place.
It’s very positive that all of this has changed and that this process can continue. A thought that arises from the Gospel should not be immutable like a fossil, but rather reread the Gospel itself in light of contemporary culture and the world, attentive to its opportunities and limitations. Gender and human dignity need to be related in such a way as to shine forth the face of God, who is a Father and does not disown any of His LGBT+ children.
Luís Corrêa Lima is a Jesuit priest, professor at PUC-Rio and author of the book “Theology and LGBT+: historical perspective and contemporary challenges”.
