Dignity and Coercion

The bishops at Vatican II made the profound proclamation that human beings are “the only creature on earth which God willed for itself” (Gaudium et Spes 24).

In other words, a human person is not, and cannot ever be, a means to some greater end because there is no other creature that God willed for its own sake. Governments, economies, organizations, and churches serve the human person—not the other way around.

The Council went on to recognize that respecting human dignity is so important, so fundamental to our faith, that it is even a greater priority than spreading the Gospel.

“In spreading religious faith and in introducing religious practices everyone ought at all times to refrain from any manner of action which might seem to carry a hint of coercion” (Dignitatis Humanae 4).

My desire—my good and proper desire—to share God’s goodness with others doesn't trump their dignity. My fear that another person’s sin may harm them doesn’t trump their freedom. My fear of hell doesn’t justify coercion.

In fact, Pope John Paul II eventually taught that denying someone “complete freedom of conscience” is a “violation of that individual's most personal rights” (Pope John Paul II, 1991, Message for the World Day of Peace).

This inviolability of conscience, as the passage from Dignitatis Humanae indicates, forbids even the appearance of coercion in our work of evangelization.

The Council went on to acknowledge that the Church has failed at this and, at times, acted in ways “hardly in accord with the spirit of the Gospel or even opposed to it” (DH 12).

This failure is repeated today every time we attempt to coerce someone into right belief or right behavior.

This failure is repeated every time a bishop, priest, or lay people prioritizes institutional reputation, access to the sacraments, or healthy bank accounts over the dignity of the vulnerable and marginalized.