In Dignitas Infinita, or "Infinite Dignity," the Catholic Church proclaims that "gender theory" plays into "the age-old temptation to make oneself God" as well as that "sex change" surgery is a threat to human dignity.
"In the light of Revelation, the Church resolutely reiterates and confirms the ontological dignity of the human person, created in the image and likeness of God and redeemed in Jesus Christ," the document declares at its beginning.
"Regarding gender theory, whose scientific coherence is the subject of considerable debate among experts, the Church recalls that human life in all its dimensions, both physical and spiritual, is a gift from God," the document stated.
"This gift is to be accepted with gratitude and placed at the service of the good. Desiring a personal self-determination, as gender theory prescribes, apart from this fundamental truth that human life is a gift, amounts to a concession to the age-old temptation to make oneself God, entering into competition with the true God of love revealed to us in the Gospel."
Additionally, the Catholic Church took a stand against the practice of surrogacy "through which the immensely worthy child becomes a mere object."
Quoting from Pope Francis, the document stated, "I deem deplorable the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood, which represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child, based on the exploitation of situations of the mother’s material needs."
"A child is always a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract. Consequently, I express my hope for an effort by the international community to prohibit this practice universally," the document read.
Addressing euthanasia and assisted suicide, the Vatican also took a harsh stance against the practice.
"There is a special case of human dignity violation that is quieter but is swiftly gaining ground. It is unique in how it utilizes a mistaken understanding of human dignity to turn the concept of dignity against life itself. This confusion is particularly evident today in discussions surrounding euthanasia," the Vatican wrote in the release, adding that the practice is not "consistent with respect for the dignity of the human person."
The document comes on the 75th aniversary of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Catholic Church emphasized a need to place "respect for the dignity of the human person beyond all circumstances" to be placed in the "center of every legal system."
