In the sixth video of this series on the infinite dignity of every human being, I draw our attention to perhaps the most challenging implication of this teaching. That is, if every human being has infinite dignity, that must also include those who have acted in the worst, most inhumane, ways.
As we are all so personally deeply aware, human beings can “commit inestimably profound acts of evil against others. Those who act this way seem to have lost any trace of humanity and dignity” (Dignitas Infinita 7). However, even when a person behaves this way, they have not lost their ontological, infinite dignity.
“Let us keep in mind that ‘not even a murderer loses his personal dignity, and God himself pledges to guarantee this’.The firm rejection of the death penalty shows to what extent it is possible to recognize the inalienable dignity of every human being and to accept that he or she has a place in this universe. If I do not deny that dignity to the worst of criminals, I will not deny it to anyone. I will give everyone the possibility of sharing this planet with me, despite all our differences” (Fratelli Tutti 269).
