The divine dignity of human persons in Dignitatis humanae

This article concludes our formal series commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of Vatican II. The author inquires about the idea of human dignity that inspired Dignitatis humanae, the Declaration on Religious Freedom. The idea is grounded in the fact that human beings are created in the image of God; they are intelligent and free, replicas of divine nature. They are called to meet God in their consciences, and serve God in obedience and love. Such a response must take place in an environment of freedom, internal and external. Five decades later the question is still alive: How ought the Church respect consciences? Further, the implementation of the Declaration in our contemporary world may demand that the 'new evangelization' should begin with awakening human persons to their own dignity. Keywords ecclesiology, councils, ecumenical councils, Vatican II, religious freedom, conscience, dissent, church and state, human rights, human dignity, evangelization
One of the most insightful of the commentators on the Second Vatican Council, French Benedictine Ghislain Lafont, writes in his book L'Eglise en travail de reforme, 'The history of the [...]