The principle of the dignity of the human person reminds us that every
human being is made in the image and likeness of God and has an inalienable
and transcendent human dignity which gives rise to human rights.
It is
the bedrock of all Catholic social ethics. It follows that people are
always more important than things. People must never be treated as a means
or
an instrument to be used for the benefit of another.
Every human person
is equal in dignity and rights. Every human community, every race and
culture is equal in dignity and rights. The human family is one because
we are all children of the one God. This aspect of human dignity is sometimes
referred to as the principle of the unity of the human family.
The Catechism
explains it this way:
“Created in the image and likeness of
the one God and equally endowed with rational souls, all persons
have the same
nature and the same origin. Redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ,
all are called to participate in the same divine beatitude: all therefore
enjoy
an equal dignity.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church, n 1934
