Human Dignity: Yes, and Lots of Questions

One of my brilliant nephews is a sophomore in college majoring in philosophy. And yes, many people, including complete strangers, have already told him what a foolish major that is and have asked him how he will ever make a living. (He’ll be fine!) Anyway, his summer research project for the program he is in is on the topic of human dignity, and it’s been a joy to listen to him sort through all the attendant issues of human dignity. (Do you remember the freshness of being nineteen and having so many great questions?) 

He is asking questions like: Is dignity inherent to all humans? Is dignity afforded by those who have power? Is dignity denied to others by those who have power? Do people gain power by granting or withholding dignity? How is dignity restored after it has been denied? How are the scars of indignity healed, or can they be? Do we earn dignity by the way we hold ourselves in the world, by our language or position or education or income? Or is dignity given by God in that we are made in the image and likeness of God? Does my dignity need to be defended against all others, as if dignity is in limited supply and we can’t all have enough? What a privilege it has been to listen to him sort through his reading and thinking about dignity. 

The Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (ethical-religious-directives-catholic-health-service-sixth-edition-2016-06_0.pdf) are guidelines from the US Catholic Bishops regarding Catholic health care. They offer the following in Directive #3:

“In accord with its mission, Catholic health care should distinguish itself by service to and advocacy for those people whose social conditions puts them at the margin of society and makes them particularly vulnerable to discrimination: the poor; the uninsured and the underinsured; children and the unborn; single parents; the elderly; those with incurable diseases and chemical dependencies; racial minorities; immigrants and refugees. In particular, the person with mental or physical disabilities, regardless of the cause or severity, must be treated as a unique person of incomparable worth, with the same right to life and to adequate health care as all other persons.” 

Dignity might be as simple as this: to treat each person as “a unique person of incomparable worth, with the same right to life and to adequate health care as all other persons.” I’m looking forward to my next phone call with my nephew. 

Mary Carter Waren, D.Min., serves as the Mission Leader at Holy Cross Health, where she oversees Mission Integration Essential Services, including ethics, spiritual care, and ministry formation, while collaborating with leadership to advance the organization’s Catholic healthcare mission. She played a key role in establishing the Legacy Program, which nurtures the spirituality of colleagues and educates them on the values of Catholic healthcare. With a doctorate in ministry and over 25 years of experience in education and peacebuilding, she has also served as founding director of the Center for Peace and Justice at St. Thomas University and held leadership roles with the School Sisters of Notre Dame.