Human Dignity Initiative
Celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with an invitation to a global conversation about preserving and protecting human dignity for everyone everywhere.
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Revolutionary in Theology: In Memoriam Jürgen Moltmann
By Zoran Grozdanov
…The cross, as the means for transformation of the present, points to Jesus—that is, toward all those who are persecuted and downtrodden for religious, political, and social reasons. God’s future belongs to them, and the transformation of the present must be performed with putting in the center the persecuted and the victims of the society—either political or religious. In that sense, too, Moltmann was revolutionary: “Theologians served to explain the worlds, they must now transform it,” meaning that the Christian must not rest until the Church—society—is built from the view of the victims, not the perpetrators. Not Christian society. Not Christian nation. Not Christian civilization. And not Christian values. And that is why we should read Moltmann, even more than when his books first appeared.
In April 2024, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (the Holy See’s institution responsible for the religious discipline of the Catholic Church) published the declaration Dignitas Infinita. The document contributes to the theological argumentation of human dignity as an ontological feature of every human being and clarifies the teachings of the Catholic Church on dignity-related issues, including those traditionally the subject of the Holy See’s focus (such as family ethics, poverty, and war) and those that are virtually new (such as human dignity and digital technologies).
In this series, theologians and political and legal scholars reflect on the declaration and explore if and how the document advances the Church’s teachings on human dignity, how it can help address dignity-related threats, and how it might (or might not) strengthen dignity as a basic value of human societies.
The tragic events of 7 October and the subsequent war in Gaza have reignited longstanding tension in Israel regarding the draft of Ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students. This issue has been impacted as well by recent rulings of the Israeli Supreme Court, which have brought the matter back into public debate. This post aims to simplify this extremely complex issue and guide the reader through developments leading to the recent bill currently being considered by the Knesset. Given the brevity of this post, its focus is on recent developments and specifically on the 2024 bill rather than a comprehensive historical review.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom recently released its 2024 Annual Report, which contains recommendations regarding U.S. government efforts to enhance religious freedom globally. Nadine Maenza comments on the report and the global religious freedom trends it reflects.
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