WelCom, September 2024
The ‘Infinite’ Nature of Human Dignity
Each year, on the second Sunday in October, the Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand holds a Day of Prayer for Life, otherwise known as Support Life Sunday.
This year, the Day of Prayer for Life is on Sunday 13 October. The theme for 2024, approved by the New Zealand Catholic bishops, is ‘Infinite Dignity = Infinite Love’.
The focus picks up on the recent Vatican document, Dignitas Infinita – On Human Dignity. In the preamble to this significant publication, the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith describes the impetus for it as arising out of ‘the indispensable nature of the dignity of the human person in Christian anthropology’ and the urgent need to illustrate ‘the significance and beneficial implications of the concept in the social, political, and economic realms’, which are currently characterised by so many grave violations of human dignity.
The document’s title traces back to a speech given to disabled people by Pope St John Paul II in 1980 in which he emphasised that God, in Jesus Christ, has shown how he loves every person in an ‘unsurpassable’ way and this thereby bestows upon every individual an ‘infinite dignity’.
To quote directly from Dignitas Infinita: ‘Every human person possesses an infinite dignity, inalienably grounded in his or her very being, which prevails in and beyond every circumstance, state, or situation the person may ever encounter.’
In line with the focus of Dignitas Infinita, the campaign tagline for this year’s Support Life Sunday is: ‘Every Life Matters … Always!’
Liturgical materials in the form of a suggested welcome and introduction and Prayers of the Faithful have already been distributed to parishes, along with suggestions for hymns.
Other materials, including social media posts using quotes from Dignitas Infinita and a specially developed Prayer for Life, are still being worked on, says Dr John Kleinsman, director of the Nathaniel Centre for Bioethics, which is responsible for developing the campaign content in close collaboration with the six diocesan Pastoral Care Offices.
See How does the Declaration on Human Dignity apply in Aotearoa New Zealand?