The dignity of the child and his parents in the teaching of the Pontifi cal Council for the Family

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present the most important elements of the teaching of the Pontifi cal Council for the Family on the dignity of the child and its parents in the context of today’s social phenomena and changes, and the actuality of this teaching. To this end, the method used is that of analysing the documents of this Council, and the papal teaching on the subject. It was pointed out that the dignity of the child and its parents is indissolubly linked to respect for the laws governing fertility and to the dignity of the conjugal act. It was also shown that a contraceptive and hedonistic mentality threatens both the dignity of the child and its parents. It was also pointed out that it is necessary to sensitise the scientifi c world to the protection of the personal dignity of every human being and to reach every person with this message, and to try to infl uence a change of mentality. The teaching of the Pontifi cal Council for the Family also implies, as pointed out in the article, the need to treat each person subjectively and not objectively, including their sexual and gender dimensions.