I just kept thinking, is this true?
So I started reviewing papal documents.
I started going through St. Thomas Aquinas.
And what I found is that not only is it not true,
but it's completely and totally countered
by what previous popes have said
and by what St. Thomas Aquinas says.
dignitas infinita and political compromises boy we're going to have a great conversation today
in fact i saw this yesterday the pope francis is refusing to speak ex cathedra doesn't want
to put anything on the line too formally it seems has this been a can of worms we're going
to talk about dignitas infinita with michael hitchborn from the lepanto institute
by the way my name is joe mclean i host a radio program called
a catholic take where we look at the world through a catholic lens i'd love for you to hang out with
us if you like it give it a thumbs up and let us know what you think in the comments below
I don't know if you saw this, but yesterday with this release of the document,
it turns out that Cardinal Fernandez basically said his holiness, Pope Francis, does not want to speak ex cathedra about anything.
That kind of leaves a lot of ambiguity, kind of like the document itself.
To talk about Dignitas, we've invited Michael Hitchborn from Lepanto Institute,
who has read and reviewed and dived deep into the document.
He's got a big newsletter coming out this week.
You should sign up to get a hold of it.
I have a couple of opinions for sure.
Number one, it seems like a lot of gobbledygook type of language.
like sort of leaving the door open a lot for whoever wants to decide to interpret this thing
and then of course there's lots of uh troubling issues that seem to have come
up with commentators yesterday death penalty the lack of uh really identifying sinfulness
the homosexuality not being mentioned in others what did you think and find in this document
Anytime I read something or I look at something, I'll be perfectly frank.
I can't stand going on somebody's long, windy word journey.
I hate wordy documents and I just, I start to fall asleep when somebody starts telling me a story.
Don't tell me a story. Tell me the bottom line. What are you going to tell me?
Then explain it to me. Then review what you told me. That's what I want.
So I'm always looking for that bottom line. And the very first line of this particular document, Dignitas Infinita, it says every human person possesses an infinite dignity.
infallibly grounded in his or her being and I I remember looking at that line
which it's the very first line and I just kept thinking is this true is this
true and how can I know that it's true so I started reviewing papal documents I
started going through st. Thomas Aquinas and what I found is that not only is it
not true but it's completely and totally countered by what
previous popes have said and by what saint thomas aquinas says we have to remember human dignity
dignity itself means worthiness if we're going to be worthy of something
then we have to be given that worth that worth can be lost
And we know that that worth can be lost eternally because there are people who go to hell.
So you can't say that we have an infinite dignity because to say that we have an infinite dignity that comes from the Imago Dei residing in hell means that God is condemning himself.
And that can't happen.
So there's a very serious problem with the foundational element of this document.
And when you start to look at it from that perspective, all of the conclusions that it draws regarding the death penalty, regarding poverty, regarding abortion and transgender surgeries and that kind of thing, it all falls apart.
You can't build a new moral paradigm off of this one statement.
But that's what Cardinal Fernandez attempted to do.
You really point out how wide the door is now open to just about anybody's interpretation.
And I found it interesting because yesterday, a lot of the headlines, the AP, NBC, CBS, all of the sort of mainstream news.
They all saw this as very, very negative.
And then there was others that saw this as sort of like a champion victory.
Father Martin, for instance.
So it seems like it's any man's decision on how to really, truly interpret this document.
You obviously saw it that way as well.
Oh, completely. Completely. Because once again, Cardinal Fernandez doesn't actually define dignity at any point throughout the entire document.
what he calls four different types of dignity and and okay fine you're
going to give me a type but what does that mean so he has ontological dignity
which is this inherent, infinite, inalienable dignity that every person has
simply because they have the image and likeness of God.
Then he has moral dignity, which he says can be lost.
Now, I have to point out, the word sin only appears twice in the entire document.
But everything that is determined to be a sin that we know as a sin,
abortion and transgender surgery, etc.,
basically,
he identifies it now as a violation of human dignity. So he's changing the nature of sin,
our understanding of sin, the problem of sin, and it's no longer an offense to God,
which is what sin is, but now it's just a violation of human dignity. This has no meaning.
There is no basis for this understanding of human dignity in any element of Catholic thought.
To respect human dignity, the declaration also condemns unjust discrimination, aggression, and violence directed toward individuals based on sexual orientation going on.
It should be denounced, this is quoting, it should be denounced as contrary to human dignity the fact that in some places not a few people are imprisoned, tortured, and even deprived of the good of life solely because of their sexual orientation, close quote.
Close quote.
Again, it's one of these things like he's basically throwing some digs at those African countries that pass laws that say we're not going to accept any sodomy here.
Remember, we all remember his trip to Africa and how the African nations were uncomfortable with the Pope's outward statements condemning the anti-sodomy laws.
And of course, we all know the Fiduci Supakon's response now where the African bishops had to lead the way to say we're not putting up with this here.
And yet they're they're seemingly doubling down.
And not only do they not mention homosexuality in particular in this document, but they seem to be saying, hey, you got to back off, you know, having issues with this from a public policy standpoint in your country.
Is that the proper interpretation?
Well, so the document does mention sexual orientation and it's that becomes the new buzzword for homosexual activities.
And there's a bit of a straw man going on here because what what Cardinal Fernandez says is that these countries that are imposing these these laws, these discriminatory laws can imprison.
torture and even execute people for having a sexual orientation that's not true it's the
sexual activity that is causing people to be imprisoned or executed not the um the orientation
an individual who simply says gosh i kind of feel this way is not going to be thrown in prison is
not going to be tortured and is not going to be executed so it's a straw man but
But with regard to the question of whether it is against or opposed to human dignity for somebody to be executed, I want to point this out.
St. Thomas Aquinas says this in the Secundae Secundae, quote,
By sinning, man departs from the order of reason and consequently falls away from the dignity of his manhood insofar as he is naturally free and exists for himself, and he falls into the slavish state of the beasts.
And he does so by being disposed of according as he is useful to others.
And then he cites the Psalms.
and then he goes on he says hence although it be evil itself to kill a man so long as he preserve
his dignity yet may be good to kill a man who has sinned even as it is to kill a beast for a bad man
is worse than a beast and is more harmful as the philosopher states so this question about
execution the death penalty being opposed to human dignity thomas aquinas completely disagrees
Is there anything good we can say about the document?
It seems like there were strong statements against abortion.
It seems like there were strong statements against transgender surgeries and therapies and treatments like that.
What about IVF? Anything good out of the document that you thought was well said?
Well, look, I'll say this. I think that it's fine that the document reaffirms certain elements of Catholic moral thought, but the fact that it is built upon a false premise that...
Man has infinite dignity, which Thomas Aquinas and previous popes have pointed out only Christ and
Our Lady have infinite dignity Christ by virtue of his
Having a divine person
He is a divine person and Our Lady by virtue of the fact that she is the mother of God
Those two things give those two people
persons
Infinite dignity none of us possesses infinite dignity
And when you build an entire moral paradigm on this notion that there is infinite dignity, you wind up destroying.
the very moral fiber of the teaching itself. So if you point out that, well, this premise is false
and therefore people who commit abortions or the act of abortion is no longer an offense to the
infinite dignity of a human person, well, now you've destroyed the moral argument.
So it's a serious problem. There really isn't anything that the document puts forth as a
positive statement. In other words, it's, there's no, therefore you must.
As opposed to like fiduciary supplicants, which says, well, now you've got to open the door for this kind of blessing.
There's no therefore in this document.
So I don't think it's going to have any kind of pushback, except it's going to be received with kind of a yawn and a, well, a tilt of the head.
And that's about it.
My question is, what future document is going to be built on it?
And that's the problem.
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