Catholic Social Teaching (CST) is an awesome gift of our faith because it shows us how the Gospel Message can be applied in our lives to create a more just and peaceful world. Human Dignity is the first of seven main themes of CST.

 

Human Dignity means much more than we need to treat everyone with respect. Our Catholic Faith teaches that all human beings have been and always will be created in the image and likeness of God. As Divine Creations every human being has a sacred dignity that must be respected and protected.

 

Jesus tells the story of the traveler from Jerusalem who is robbed and beaten up on the way to Jericho. A priest and a Levite see him and cross to the other side of the road to avoid him. Then a Samaritan, who is from a different tribe of Israel that is not a friend of the Jews of Jerusalem, comes along, stops, tends to the injured man’s wounds, takes him to an inn and pays for his lodging and care.

 

The Samaritan story is relevant to us today. We can reflect on the following: Are there people who are beaten up by others or by circumstances beyond their control and left on the side of the road? Do we see people who are different from us because of skin color, religion or national origin as children of God? Do we show compassion for those who happen to be poor or homeless? Do we protect the dignity of people displaced from their homes by war or violence, like refugees and immigrants, or of the outcasts in society, like the mentally ill or imprisoned?

 

Sometimes it is hard for us to recognize that everyone is a child of God. The Samaritan story teaches us to show compassion and protect the dignity of everyone, especially those who are left on the side of the road.