Dignity of the Human Person and the Problem of Institutional Violence in the Context of the Papal Teaching
Dignity of the Human Person and the Problem of Institutional Violence in the Context of the Papal Teaching

Summary/Abstract: The dignity of the human person is a fundamental value and source of ethical principles. Its theoretical basis is derived from the Gospel and is inscribed in the Western culture and the ideas of human rights. At the axiological-ethical level, the human person is an autotelic value, which means a person deserves respect and is free from instrumental treatment. This postulate also applies to the organization with which persons are associated. In this article, the main subject of analysis is the issue of dignity of the human person in relation to what denies it, namely institutional violence. The context for the analysis undertaken is: a) John Paul II’s apostolic exhortation Christifideles laici, b) Francis’s encyclical Fratelli tutti, and c) the declaration Dignitas infinita on human dignity. The latter document was prepared by the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and signed by Prefect Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández. In this article I intend to analyze the content of the above-mentioned documents from the philosophical-critical perspective. Here I refer to the clarification of mechanisms that lead to violence related to the functioning of institutions and, at the same time, the indication of attitudes and behaviours that consist of informing and revealing situations of violence when the victims experiencing it are its passive witnesses and are sometimes involuntary perpetrators.

• Details
• Contents