Pope, in audience on Vatican II, reflects on human dignity

September 09, 2026

Continuing his series of Wednesday general audiences on the Second Vatican Council and its documents, Pope Leo XIV today spoke about “human dignity: gift and responsibility.”

Today’s audience (video), which took place in St. Peter’s Square, was the twenty-fifth audience in the series and the second devoted to the Gaudium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (1965).

“By dedicating the first chapter to the dignity of the human person,” Gaudium et Spes “emphasizes that it is the foundation and condition for ‘those values which are most highly prized today,’ but these must not lose sight of their ‘divine source,’ in order to avoid possible distortions arising from the ‘taint in man’s human heart,” Pope Leo began.

“The journey that made it possible to highlight the fundamental characteristics and rights of human dignity certainly represents one of the most significant chapters in human history,” the Pope continued. “However, the path ahead is not yet complete and must address the contradictions, both old and new, which prevent its full realization.”

The Pope discussed several facets of human dignity:

• “Human dignity arises from the very being of the person.”
• “In faith we can understand the ultimate foundation for the dignity of the person, inasmuch as the Son, ‘by the revelation of the mystery of the Father and His love, fully reveals man to man himself and makes his supreme calling clear.’“
• “The person always implies relationship, communion and participation in relation to God and to others; hence, a filial relationship with God the Father and a fraternal relationship with Christ and with all humankind.”
• “This dignity is entrusted to the responsibility of each person: at the same time, it also demands solidarity and mutual care, overcoming the many falsifications and manipulations that still disfigure our perception of it and hinder its realization.”
• “Human dignity concerns the whole person and, therefore, dualistic views must be overcome: the human being ‘though made of body and soul, is one.’“

“Gaudium et Spes recalls the three most significant expressions of the dignity of the person: intelligence, which makes the human being an insatiable seeker of the truth; conscience, through which he gives unity and meaning to his life, and freedom, which makes him the responsible agent of his own decisions,” added the Pope, who concluded:

Dear brothers and sisters, created in God’s image, through Christ and for His sake, we have received a unique and indelible dignity. Let us commit ourselves to promoting and defending it always, with the light and strength of the Gospel.

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Audiences in series “Vatican Council II through its Documents”

• Introductory catechesis (1/7/26)

On Dei Verbum, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (1965):

• God speaks to men as to friends (1/14/26)
• Jesus Christ reveals the Father (1/21/26)
• A single sacred deposit: The relationship between Scripture and Tradition (1/28/26)
• The Sacred Scripture: the Word of God in human words (2/4/26)
• The Word of God in the life of the Church (2/11/26)

On Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (1964):

• The mystery of the Church, sacrament of the union with God, and the unity of all humanity (2/18/26)
• No audience on 2/25 (Pope, Roman Curia on retreat)
• The Church, a Visible and Spiritual Reality (3/4/26)
• The Church, people of God (3/11/26)
• The Church, a Priestly and Prophetic People (3/18/26)
• On the foundation of the Apostles: The Church in her hierarchical dimension (3/25/26)
• Living stones in the Church and witnesses in the world: The laity in the People of God (4/1/26)
• Holiness and evangelical counsels in the Church (4/8/26)
• No audience on 4/15 and 4/22 (in Africa), followed by a special general audience on his apostolic journey to Africa (4/29/26)
• The Church, pilgrim in history towards the heavenly homeland (5/6/26)
• The Virgin Mary, model of the Church (5/13/26)

On Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (1963):

• The liturgy in the mystery of the Church (5/20/26)
• The reform of the liturgy: tradition and development (5/27/26)
• Rite, sign, and symbol (6/3/26)
• No audience on 6/10 (in Spain), followed by a special general audience on his apostolic journey to Spain (6/17/26)
• The mystery of the Eucharist (6/24/26)
• No audiences in July
• The prayer of the Church (8/5/26)
• The liturgical year (8/12/26)
• Sacred music (8/19/26)
• Motivations for liturgical reform (8/26/26)

On Gaudium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (1965):

• The Church: Listening to and Serving the World (9/2/26)
• Human dignity: gift and responsibility (9/9/26)

 

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Further information:

• General Audience (Dicastery for Communication - Vatican Media, 9/9/26)
• General Audience (Holy See Press Office, 9/9/26)
• Pope at Audience: Human dignity must always be defended as God’s gift (Vatican News, 9/9/26)