Dignity Of The Human Person: Benedict Xvi's Caritas In Veritate

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Benedict XVI’s Caritas in Veritate
Dignity of the Human Person
According to Benedict XVI the dignity of the Human Person refers to the spiritual nature of humans. We can reflect back to Homo Imago Dei. God created and sent His Son Jesus Christ in the image of Him to help us accomplish peace and a respect for human life. Christ lived a practical life, therefore the Church encourages Catholics and fellow Christians to live the same way Christ did, in humility as a working man. The relationship between God and the human person is one that allows freedom. The State cannot enter into it, and so it refers to mans religious freedom. “It gives real substance to the personal relationship with God and with neighbour; it is the principle not only of …show more content…

“The environment is God's gift to everyone, and in our use of it we have a responsibility towards the poor, towards future generations and towards humanity as a whole,” (C.V. 48). Whether it is one man or an entire nation that suffers from poverty, humans have the moral obligation to help those in need to make ourselves better. “The Church's social doctrine has always maintained that justice must be applied to every phase of economic activity, because this is always concerned with man and his needs,” (C.V. 37).
The basic responsibility of the church is to achieve the common good. Benedict XVI believed charity went beyond justice because of the act love outweighs seeking the root of “Charity goes beyond justice, because to love is to give, to offer what is “mine” to the other; but it never lacks justice, which prompts us to give the other what is “his”, what is due to him by reason of his being or his acting,” (C.V. 6). This means solidarity between the rich and the …show more content…

Excluding globalization excludes people which as a result spreads more poverty. He urged employers to respect a man and his willingness to work for a just wage to support his family. Benedict XVI’s explained, “What is meant by the word “decent” in regard to work? It means work that expresses the essential dignity of every man and woman in the context of their particular society: work that is freely chosen, effectively associating workers, both men and women, with the development of their community; work that enables the worker to be respected and free from any form of discrimination; work that makes it possible for families to meet their needs and provide schooling for their children, without the children themselves being forced into labour; work that permits the workers to organize themselves freely, and to make their voices heard; work that leaves enough room for rediscovering one's roots at a personal, familial and spiritual level; work that guarantees those who have retired a decent standard of living,” (C.V. 63). The employer must be fair to his employees providing a just wage and fair working conditions. “The economy needs ethics in order to function correctly- not any ethics whatsoever, but an ethics which is people-centered,” (C.V. 45). This means the distribution of wealth (property) needs to be developed through moral consistencies of production and the consumption of goods and

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