> [[itc-qvh-06|← Previous]] | [[quo-vadis-humanitas-toc|TOC]] # Footnotes \[1\] Cf. Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration *Dignitas infinita*, 2 April 2024, 6. 11. \[2\] Psalm 144 asks the same question, but highlights the fragility of human beings: ‘Lord, what are human beings that you care for them, the son of man that you think of him? Human beings are like breath, their days like a passing shadow.’ (*Ps* 144:3-4) Job also questions the meaning of God’s interest in human beings: ‘What are human beings that you should regard them so much and turn your mind upon them?’ (*Job* 7:17) \[3\] Francis, *Address to participants in the Plenary Session of the Pontifical Council for Culture*, 18 November 2017. See also the document of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, *Che cosa è l’uomo? (Sal 8,5). Un itinerario di antropologia biblica*, 2019, 8, which uses Psalm 8 as the basis for discourse on biblical anthropology. \[4\] Leo XIV, *Address to the College of Cardinals*, 10 May 2025. \[5\] International Theological Commission, *Theology Today: Perspectives, Principles and Criteria*, 2012, 55. \[6\] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution *Gaudium et spes*, 7 December 1965, 3. \[7\] Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, *Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church*, 19. \[8\] The term ‘identity’ appears in the anthropological documents of the International Theological Commission, but it is not among the most frequent. It is used in a sense that is not specifically anthropological but Christological or Trinitarian, and sometimes in a generic sense. \[9\] On the notion of human nature – also in relation to that of the person – see International Theological Commission, *In Search of a Universal Ethic: A New Look at Natural Law*, 2009, 64-66; Id., *Religious Freedom for the Good of All*, 2019, 32-39. This is a complex notion, which designates the principle of the specific ontological identity of a subject, that is, its ‘essence’ as understood in terms of a set of stable characteristics. However, it is not something fixed and static, since it is a dynamic internal principle that inclines the subject towards its fulfilment through specific activities in a complex interrelationship first and foremost with God in Christ, with other persons, and with all realities. \[10\] Cf. Francis, Apostolic Exhortation *Evangelii gaudium*, 24 November 2013, 221. \[11\] For this characterization of the existential condition, see S. Kierkegaard, *The Sickness Unto Death*, ed. and trans. by Howard V. Hong and Edna H. Hong (Kierkegaard’s Writings, XIX), Princeton 1980, ‘Despair as Defined by Finitude/Infinitude’, 29-35; Id., *The Concept of Anxiety*, ed. and trans. with Introduction and Notes by Reidar Thomte in collaboration with Albert B. Anderson (Kierkegaard’s Writings, VIII) Princeton 1980, ‘V. Anxiety as Saving through Faith’, 155-162. \[12\] See N. Bostrom, ‘Transhumanist Values’, *Journal of Philosophical Research* 30/Supplement (2005): 3–14, 4. For more on *transhumanism*, see S. Young, *Designer Evolution: A Transhumanist Manifesto*, Amherst NY 2005; *The Transhumanist Reader: Classical and Contemporary Essays on the Science, Technology, and Philosophy of the Human Future*, ed. Max More and Natasha Vita-More, New York/London 2013; Y. N. Harari, *Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow*, New York 2017; R. Kurzweil, *The Singularity Is Nearer: When We Merge with AI*, New York 2024. See the *Humanity Plus* website: https://www.humanityplus.org \[accessed online on 19 August 2025\]. \[13\] On *posthumanism*, see R. Braidotti, *Metamorphoses: Towards a Materialist Theory of Becoming,* Cambridge 2002; *The Posthuman*, Cambridge 2013; C. Wolfe, *What is Posthumanism?* Minneapolis 2009. M. Rosendahl Thomsen and J. Warnberg (Eds.), *The Bloomsbury Handbook of Posthumanism*, London/New York 2020; F. Ferrando, *The Art of Being Posthuman: Who Are We in the 21st Century?* Cambridge 2024. \[14\] However, in some versions, *transhumanism* appears to be oriented towards a ‘posthuman ideal’ to the point of conflation with *posthumanism*. The articulation of a ‘posthuman ideal’ can be found in N. Bostrom's paradigmatic *Transhumanist FAQ* (https://nickbostrom.com/views/transhumanist.pdf \[accessed online on 19 August 2025\]). \[15\] Cf. Francis, Apostolic Constitution *Veritatis gaudium*, 27 December 2017, Preface. \[16\] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution *Gaudium et spes*, 7 December 1965, 11. \[17\] Francis, Apostolic Exhortation *Laudate Deum,* 4 October 2023, 67, citing Encyclical Letter *Laudato si’*, 24 May 2015, 89. Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution *Gaudium et spes*, 7 December 1965, 2 and 57. \[18\] The Council had already asked questions about the future of humanity: Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution *Gaudium et spes*, 7 December 1965, 11. \[19\] Cf. Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith – Dicastery for Culture and Education, Note *Antiqua et Nova*, 28 January 2025, note 9. \[20\] D. Alighieri, *The Divine Comedy. Paradiso*, Canto I, 70: ‘ *Transumanar significar per verba non si porria; però l’essempio basti a cui esperienza grazia serba’*, which could be translated as ‘transcending the human \[reserved for those who enter into communion with God in Paradise\] cannot be expressed in words, but only intimated by way of example to those who will one day be able to experience it.’ \[21\] Francis, Apostolic Exhortation *Evangelii gaudium*, 24 November 2013, 8. \[22\] Patristic and scholastic tradition is rich in statements proclaiming the deification of Christians, their communion with the Son, with the Spirit and with the Father, the dwelling of the faithful in God and of God in them. The axiom ‘God became what we are so that we might become what He is’, is a common heritage, albeit with different nuances, in this tradition. Among others: Irenaeus, *Adversus Haereses* V *praef*: SC 153, 14: ‘Following the one steadfast and truthful teacher, the Logos of God, Jesus Christ our Lord, who, through the superabundance of his love, became what we are, so that he might make us capable of being what he himself is'; Tertullian, *Adv. Marc.* II, 27, 7: SC 368, 164.166: ‘God became human so that human beings might be taught to act divinely. God acted as an equal with the human, so that human beings might act as an equal with God. God was found small, so that human beings might become very great’; Cyprian, *Quod idola* 11: CSEL 3/1, 28: ‘Christ wanted to be what human beings are, so that human beings could also be what Christ is’; Athanasius, *De Incarnatione* 54, 3: SC 199, 458: ‘For the Son of God became human to make us God’; Thomas Aquinas, *Officium de festo corporis Christi*, Ad Matutinas, In primo Nocturno, Lectio 1: *Opera omnia*, v. 29 (Paris 1876) p. 336: ‘The only-begotten \[...\] Son of God, wishing us to share in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that, having become human, he might make human beings gods.’ For a summary presentation of the Christian meaning of ‘divinization and how it is achieved, see International Theological Commission, *Theology, Christology, Anthropology*, I, E, 1-5. \[23\] John XXIII, Encyclical Letter *Pacem in Terris*, 11 April 1963, 21ff. Cf. also Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution *Gaudium et spes*, 7 December 1965, 4 and 44. \[24\] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution *Gaudium et spes*, 7 December 1965, 33. \[25\] *Ibid*. \[26\] Paul VI, Encyclical Letter *Populorum progressio*, 26 March 1967, 34. \[27\] *Ibid*., 14. \[28\] Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter *Octogesima adveniens*, 14 May 1971, 29. \[29\] John Paul II, Encyclical Letter *Redemptor hominis*, 4 March 1979, 15. \[30\] *Ibid*. \[31\] In particular, on the ethics of technology, see John Paul II, Encyclical Letter *Sollicitudo rei socialis*, 30 December 1987, IV, 27-34. \[32\] Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter *Caritas in veritate*, 29 June 2009, 68. \[33\] Cf. *ibid*., 16-17. \[34\] *Ibid*., 70. \[35\] Francis, Encyclical Letter *Laudato si’*, 24 May 2015, 105. \[36\] *Ibid*., 106. \[37\] *Ibid*., 103. \[38\] Leo XIV, *Address to Catholic digital missionaries and influencers*, 29 July 2025. \[39\] Leo XIV, *Message on the occasion of the AI for Good Summit*, 10 July 2025. \[40\] Cf. A. Barba-Kay, *A Web of Our Own Making: The Nature of Digital Formation*, Cambridge 2023. \[41\] The anthropological impact of new technologies, and in particular digital technology, had already been analysed by a group of scholars commissioned by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Communication. The results can be found in the volume *The Onlife Manifesto. Being human in a Hyperconnected Era*, 2009 (https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-04093-6) \[consulted online on 19 August 2025\]). \[42\] Cf. Francis, Encyclical Letter *Laudato si’*, 24 May 2015, 115. \[43\] *Ibid*., 51, where the North-South polarity does not have an immediately geographical meaning, but indicates a socio-economic distinction, which cuts across different situations of poverty: cf. Leo XIV, Apostolic Exhortation *Dilexi te*, 4 October 2025, 11-12. \[44\] Cf. K. Crawford, *Atlas of AI: Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence*, New Haven/London 2021. \[45\] Some criteria for discernment can be found in *Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church*, 461-487. \[46\] See the interdisciplinary work of M. J. Gaudet et al. (ed.), AI Research Group of the Centre for Digital Culture of the Dicastery for Culture and Education of the Holy See, *Encountering Artificial Intelligence: Ethical and Anthropological Investigations*, vol. 1 (Eugene, OR 2024). \[47\] Cf. Francis, *Message for the 57th World Day of Peace*, *‘Artificial Intelligence and Peace’*, 1 January 2024, 2. Cf. Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith – Dicastery for Culture and Education, Note *Antiqua et Nova*, 28 January 2025, 7-12. \[48\] Cf. Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith – Dicastery for Culture and Education, Note *Antiqua et Nova*, 28 January 2025, 49-103. \[49\] Cf. Leo XIV, *Message to participants in the second annual conference on “Artificial Intelligence, Ethics and Corporate Governance”*, 17 June 2025. \[50\] Cf. Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith – Dicastery for Culture and Education, Note *Antiqua et Nova*, 28 January 2025, 38. \[51\] Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter *Caritas in veritate*, 29 June 2009, 73. \[52\] Cf. Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith – Dicastery for Culture and Education, Note *Antiqua et Nova*, 28 January 2025, 85-89. \[53\] Many exponents of contemporary culture have addressed this issue: cf. E. Erikson, *Gioventù e crisi di identità*, Roma 1995. \[54\] Francis, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation *Christus vivit*, 25 March 2019, 87. Cf. also Pontifical Academy of Sciences, *Final Statement of the Workshop on Risks and Opportunities of AI for Children. A Common Commitment for Safeguarding Children*, 24 March 2025. \[55\] Francis, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation *Christus vivit*, 25 March 2019, 88. \[56\] *Ibid.*, 89; cf. Francis, Encyclical Letter *Fratelli tutti*, 3 October 2020, 199-202; Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith – Dicastery for Culture and Education, Nota *Antiqua et Nova*, 28 January 2025, 77-84. \[57\] See various recent studies by MIT, such as N. Kosmyna et al., ‘Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task’, https://www.media.mit.edu/publications/your-brain-on-chatgpt/ \[accessed online 19 August 2025\]. \[58\] Cf. Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter *Caritas in veritate*, 29 June 2009, 74; Francis, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation *Christus vivit*, 25 March 2019, 82. \[59\] Cf. T. Berger, *@ Worship: Liturgical Practices in Digital Worlds* (Liturgy, Worship, and Society Series), New York/London 2019. \[60\] Cf. Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith – Dicastery for Culture and Education, Nota *Antiqua et Nova*, 28 January 2025, 104-107. \[61\] Cf. Francis, Encyclical Letter *Laudato si’*, 24 May 2015, 85, 199–201, 222. \[62\] In *Summa Theologiae* I, q. 25, a. 6 ad 3 and ad 4, Thomas Aquinas rejects the idea of a best possible world that God was obliged to create, arguing that the world God has actually created cannot have been ‘made better’ than it has been in regard to the gift of grace and in particular the grace of the union of the divine infinite with the finite in the hypostatic union. \[63\] H. Jonas, *Il principio responsabilità*, Torino 2009 (orig. 1979), p. 54. \[64\] Cf. Francis, Apostolic Exhortation *Gaudete et exsultate*, 19 March 2018, 36-39; see also Apostolic Constitution *Evangelii gaudium*, 24 November 2013, 94. \[65\] Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Letter *Placuit Deo*, 22 February 2018, 3, which specifies both the similarities and differences between the forms of Gnosticism in antiquity and these tendencies in modern and postmodern thought. \[66\] The notion of a ‘people’ is not synonymous with that of a ‘nation’, which has a more political and legal meaning, even if the two are not mutually exclusive. On the meaning proposed here, see Francis, Encyclical Letter *Fratelli tutti*, 3 October 2020, 157-158: ‘If we wish to maintain that society is more than a mere aggregate of individuals, the term “people” proves necessary. There are social phenomena that create majorities, as well as megatrends and communitarian aspirations. Men and women are capable of coming up with shared goals that transcend their differences and can thus engage in a common endeavour. Then, too, it is extremely difficult to carry out a long-term project unless it becomes a collective aspiration. All these factors lie behind our use of the words “people” and “popular”.’ Cf. also paragraphs 90-92 below. \[67\] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution *Gaudium et spes*, 7 December 1965, 5. \[68\] Cf. Francis, Encyclical Letter *Fratelli tutti*, 3 October 2020, 9-17. See also numbers 151-153, in which Pope Francis locates regional realities between local and universal ones. \[69\] In a paradigmatic way: Augustine, *Confessions*, XI, 14. 31. 41. Cf. P. Ricoeur, *Temps et Récit* I-III, Paris 1983-1985. \[70\] There is a widespread perception of a ‘lack of time’, where time is consumed but not lived: Z. Bauman, *Consumo dunque sono*, Roma-Bari 2009; Id., *L’etica in un mondo di consumatori*, Roma-Bari 2010. On the loss of the sense of history and memory: J. B. Metz, *Sul concetto della nuova teologia politica 1967-1997*, Brescia 1998. \[71\] Cf. for example: C. Lasch, *L’io minimo. La mentalità della sopravvivenza in un’epoca di turbamenti*, Milano 1985. \[72\] Cf. Francis, Encyclical Letter *Lumen fidei*, 29 June 2013, 25, with its emphasis: ‘In contemporary culture, we often tend to consider the only real truth to be that of technology: truth is what we succeed in building and measuring by our scientific know-how, truth is what works and what makes life easier and more comfortable.’ \[73\] Cf. Francis, Encyclical Letter *Fratelli tutti*, 3 October 2020, 13. \[74\] *Ibid.*, 17; also 188, 27, 30, 36. \[75\] Cf. *ibid.*, 160 and 163. \[76\] Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter *Fides et ratio*, 14 September 1998, 12. \[77\] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution *Gaudium et spes*, 7 December 1965, 38-39. \[78\] John Paul II, Encyclical Letter *Redemptoris missio*, 7 December 1990, 28. \[79\] Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter *Redemptoris Mater*, 25 March 1987, 36. \[80\] Benedict XVI, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation *Verbum Domini*, 30 September 2010, 30. \[81\] Cf. Francis, Encyclical Letter *Dilexit nos*, 24 October 2024, 19. \[82\] Cf. Synod of Bishops, XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops – Second Session: *Final Document. For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission*, 26 October 2024, 111-113. \[83\] Cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Letter *Octogesima adveniens*, 14 May 1971, 8-12. \[84\] Francis, Encyclical Letter *Fratelli tutti*, 3 October 2020, 143. \[85\] Cf. P. Ricoeur, *Lectures 1. Autour du politique*, Paris 1991; also B. Waldenfels, *Topographie des Fremden. Studien zur Phenomenologie des Fremden*, Frankfurt am Main 1997. \[86\] *Letter to Diognetus* 5:1. \[87\] Cf. Francis, Encyclical Letter *Fratelli tutti*, 3 October 2020, 77-86. \[88\] *Ibid*., 12; cf. Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter *Deus caritas est*, 25 December 2005, 19. \[89\] Among the authors who have worked in this perspective, see the philosophers G. Siewerth, *Metaphysik der Kindheit*, Einsiedeln 1962; F. Ulrich, *Der Mensch als Anfang. Zur philosophischen Anthropologie der Kindheit*, Einsiedeln 1970. In theology, there is the well-known essay by K. Rahner, ‘Gedenken zu einer Theologie der Kindheit’: *Schriften zur Theologie*, VII, 313-329. \[90\] On the relationship between the political community and the people, cf. *Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church*, 385. On the symbolic richness of the people, see R. Guardini, *Dostoevskij. Il mondo religioso*, Brescia 1951, p. 15. \[91\] Cf. Francis, Apostolic Exhortation *Evangelii gaudium*, 24 November 2013, 268, where he emphasizes the ‘spiritual taste’ of belonging to a people and participating in ‘the gaze of Jesus \[which\], burning with love, expands to embrace all his people’. \[92\] Cf. Francis, Encyclical Letter *Fratelli tutti*, 3 October 2020, 144-145. \[93\] On the value of the experience of the people of God, cf. *Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church*, 377-383. On the ‘theology of the people’, see L. Gera, *La religione del popolo*, Bologna 2015 (orig. 1977). \[94\] On the importance of the international community, cf. *Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church*, 428-450. \[95\] Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith – Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, *Oeconomicae et pecuniariae quaestiones*, 6 January 2018, 18-33. \[96\] Cf. Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter *Spe salvi*, 30 November 2007, 43. \[97\] Francis, *Address to participants in the International Conference “Man-Woman. Image of God: Towards an Anthropology of Vocations”*, 1 March 2024. Cf. also Francis, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation *Christus vivit*, 25 March 2019, 248-277. \[98\] Cf. International Theological Commission, *In Search of a Universal Ethic: A New Look at Natural Law*, 2009, 66. Id., *Communion and Stewardship: Human Persons Created in the Image of God*, 2004, 7. \[99\] Cf. Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration *Dignitas infinita*, 2 April 2024, 1. \[100\] Francis, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation *Christus vivit*, 25 March 2019, 252. There is no shortage of contemporary authors who propose a phenomenology of calling and response, of gift, as a path to a renewed anthropology that also takes into account the intrinsic religious dimension of the human: J.-L. Chrétien, *L’appel et la réponse*, Paris 1992; J.-L. Marion, *Étant donné*, Paris 1998, Id., *À vrai dire: une conversation,* Paris 2021. \[101\] Cf. Pontifical Work for Ecclesiastical Vocations*, New Vocations for a New Europe*, 8 December 1997, 13. \[102\] Francis, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation *Christus vivit*, 25 March 2019, 253. \[103\] Francis, Apostolic Exhortation *Evangelii gaudium*, 24 November 2013, 273. \[104\] Augustine, *Confessions,* XIII, I, 1. \[105\] Francis, Encyclical Letter *Dilexit nos*, 24 October 2024, 90. \[106\] Pontifical Work for Ecclesiastical Vocations*, New Vocations for a New Europe*, 8 December 1997, 11c; cf. also 12-13. \[107\] Francis, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation *Christus vivit*, 25 March 2019, 184. \[108\] Cf. Francis, *Message for the 2020 World Day of Vocations*, 3 May 2020. \[109\] Cf. Francis, Encyclical Letter *Dilexit nos*, 24 October 2024, 19. \[110\] ‘By exercising the freedom to cultivate the riches of our nature, we grow over time. Even if a person is unable to exercise these capabilities due to various limitations or conditions, nevertheless the person always subsists as an “individual substance” with a complete and inalienable dignity.’ Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration *Dignitas infinita*, 2 April 2024, 9. The text specifies the ontological foundation of the dignity of the human person by taking up the classical definition of the person as an individual substance of a rational nature. On the human person, its uniqueness, freedom, dignity and openness to transcendence, see further: *Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church*, 124-148; International Theological Commission, *Religious Freedom for the Good of All*, 2019, 29-42. \[111\] Among the authors most knowledgeable on this contemporary issue are E. Morin, *Il metodo 5: l’identità umana*, Milano 2002; Z. Bauman, *Intervista sull’identità*, Roma-Bari 2007. \[112\] Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration *Dignitas infinita*, 2 April 2024, 11. \[113\] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution *Gaudium et spes*, 7 December 1965, 26. \[114\] Cf. Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration *Dignitas infinita*, 2 April 2024, 17-21. \[115\] Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter *Caritas in veritate*, 29 June 2009, 53. \[116\] On the value of intergenerational relationships, see Francis, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation *Amoris laetitia*, 19 March 2016, 193. The freedom of young people is more fragile if it is empty, devoid of affective memory: Francis, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation *Christus vivit*, 25 March 2019, 181. \[117\] Cf. Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter *Caritas in veritate*, 29 June 2009, 1. \[118\] Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration *Dignitas infinita*, 2 April 2024, 22. \[119\] *Ibid*., 31. \[120\] Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith – Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, *Oeconomicae et pecuniariae quaestiones*, 6 January 2018, 10. \[121\] Cf. Francis, Encyclical Letter *Dilexit nos*, 24 October 2024, 15-19. \[122\] Cf. Thomas Aquinas, *Summa Theologiae,* I-II, q. 110, a. 3; q. 112, a. 1. \[123\] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution *Lumen gentium*, 21 November 1964, 13. \[124\] In Edith Stein’s philosophical-theological reflection, the divine ‘calling’ (*Berufung*) is the deepest criterion for the individuation of the personal human being; cf. *Endliches Sein und Ewiges Sein*, Freiburg-Basel-Vienna 2025 (chap. VIII). P. Ricoeur, *Soi-même comme un autre*, Paris 1990, highlights the dynamics of the narrative identity of the person, which implies the capacity to understand and express the image of oneself received in one’s relationships and appropriated in a story. \[125\] Cf. Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter *Caritas in veritate*, 29 June 2009, 68. \[126\] Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration *Dignitas infinita*, 2 April 2024, 60. \[127\] Francis, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation *Amoris laetitia*, 19 March 2016, 56. \[128\] Francis, Encyclical Letter *Laudato si’*, 24 May 2015, 155. \[129\] As *Dignitas infinita* emphasizes: ‘It follows that any sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception. This is not to exclude the possibility that a person with genital abnormalities that are already evident at birth or that develop later may choose to receive the assistance of healthcare professionals to resolve these abnormalities. However, in this case, such a medical procedure would not constitute a sex change in the sense intended here.’ Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration *Dignitas infinita*, 2 April 2024, 60. \[130\] Cf. A. MacIntyre, *Dependent Rational Animals. Why Human Beings need the Virtues,* Chicago 1999 (chap. 1). \[131\] Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter *Caritas in veritate*, 29 June 2009, 53. \[132\] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution *Gaudium et spes*, 7 December 1965, 24. \[133\] Francis, Encyclical Letter *Fratelli tutti*, 3 October 2020, 87. \[134\] Cf. *ibid*., 111; also 95. \[135\] *Ibid*., 218. \[136\] Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter *Caritas in veritate*, 29 June 2009, 29. \[137\] Cf. *ibid*., 11. See also *Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church*, 130. \[138\] Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter *Caritas in veritate*, 29 June 2009, 18. \[139\] Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter *Redemptoris Mater*, 25 March 1987, 30-31. \[140\] Cf. Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration *Dignitas infinita*, 2 April 2024, 20. \[141\] Cf. Francis, Encyclical Letter *Laudato si’*, 24 May 2015, 79, 83. \[142\] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution *Gaudium et spes*, 7 December 1965, 14. \[143\] Cf. Francis, Encyclical Letter *Laudato si’*, 24 May 2015, 81. Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration *Dignitas infinita*, 2 April 2024, 9*.* See also International Theological Commission, *Religious Freedom for the Good of All*, 2019, 42. \[144\] Cf. Francis, Encyclical Letter *Laudato si’*, 24 May 2015, 82. \[145\] Cf. Id., Apostolic Exhortation *Laudate Deum,* 4 October 2023, 67. \[146\] On the relationship between animals and human beings from a biblical perspective, cf. Pontifical Biblical Commission, *Che cosa è l’uomo? (Sal 8,5). Un itinerario di antropologia biblica*, 2019, 139 ff. \[147\] International Theological Commission, *Communion and Stewardship: Human Persons Created in the Image of God*, 2004, 66. \[148\] Francis, Apostolic Exhortation *Laudate Deum,* 4 October 2023, 26-27. \[149\] See the classic account, R. Guardini, *Der Gegensatz: Versuche zu einer Philosophie des Lebendig-Konkreten* (Romano Guardini Werke), Mainz 2025. \[150\] Cf. J. Bergoglio – Pope Francis, *Nei tuoi occhi è la mia parola. Omelie e discorsi di Buenos Aires 1999-2013*, Milano 2016, XIX. This gives rise to the principle that ‘unity is greater than conflict’ (Apostolic Exhortation *Evangelii gaudium*, 24 November 2013, 228): the resolution of conflicts is referred to a higher plane that preserves within itself the positive potentialities of polarities in tension. \[151\] For the description of these anthropological polarities, we take inspiration from the International Theological Commission, *Communion and Stewardship: Human Persons Created in the Image of God*, 2004, 25-51. \[152\] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution *Gaudium et spes*, 7 December 1965, 14; cf. International Theological Commission, *Communion and Stewardship: Human Persons Created in the Image of God*, 2004, 26-30. While there has been a long and dominant tradition in theology that interprets this ‘unity of body and soul’ along the lines of Aristotelian hylomorphism, revised in the light of revelation (e.g., Thomas Aquinas, *Summa Theologiae* I, q. 76) and also reflected in the Magisterium (from the Council of Vienne to the Second Vatican Council), there is also an older tripartite account—body, soul, spirit—which also has solid foundations. See H. de Lubac, *Théologie dans l’histoire: I. Lumière du Christ*, Paris 1990, 113-199. The two accounts are in reality not mutually exclusive but complement each other, enriching Christian anthropology with different accents, thanks to their constitutive reference to the relationship with God (to which both concepts of soul and spirit refer), which suggests that the material/spiritual polarity finds harmony at a third and higher level, namely, that of relationship with God (cf. as specified in n. 132). \[153\] Francis, Encyclical Letter *Dilexit nos*, 24 October 2024, 21. \[154\] Id., Encyclical Letter *Laudato si’*, 24 May 2015, 81. Every human being is a person who integrates and transcends his or her biological, genetic and bodily dimensions: ‘When a new person is born of the conjugal union of the two, he or she brings with hi mor her into the world a particular image and likeness of God himself: *the genealogy of the person is inscribed in the very biology of generation.*’ John Paul II, *Letter to Families “Gratissimam sane”*, 2 February 1994, 9. \[155\] John Paul II, *Messaggio ai partecipanti alla Plenaria della Pontificia Accademia delle Scienze*, 22 October 1996, 5. \[156\] Cf. International Theological Commission, *Communion and Stewardship: Human Persons Created in the Image of God*, 2004, 64. \[157\] Francis, *General Audience*, 22 April 2015. Adam’s amazement at the woman means that the recognition of Eve as ‘part of him’ does not imply possession or simple dependence, but is an unexpected and gratuitous gift that comes only from God, even if it touches the identity of the man deeply. This is the meaning of otherness in reciprocity. \[158\] Francis, *General Audience,* 15 April 2015. \[159\] Cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Letter *Mulieris dignitatem*, 15 August 1988, 6. Id., *Letter to Families “Gratissimam sane”*, 2 February 1994, 8. \[160\] This polarity translates, in its exercise, into other important ‘tensions’ inherent in social phenomena, cf. Francis, Apostolic Exhortation *Evangelii gaudium*, 24 November 2013, 221-237. \[161\] Cf. *Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church*, 130. \[162\] Augustine, *Confessions* I, 1.1. \[163\] D. Alighieri, *The Divine Comedy. Inferno,* Canto XXVI, 118-120. \[164\] On the historical nature of redemption, see Pontifical Biblical Commission, *Che cosa è l’uomo? (Sal 8,5). Un itinerario di antropologia biblica*, 2019, 11 and chap. IV. \[165\] John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation *Reconciliatio et paenitentia*, 2 December 1984, 15. Cf. Pontifical Biblical Commission, *Che cosa è l’uomo? (Sal 8,5). Un itinerario di antropologia biblica*, 2019, 295ff. \[166\] Pontifical Biblical Commission, *Che cosa è l’uomo? (Sal 8,5). Un itinerario di antropologia biblica*, 2019, 12. \[167\] From God’s perspective, the commandment is a ‘gift’ (*Deut* 5:22; 9:20; 10:4; *Neh* 9:14), while for human beings it mostly takes on the aspect of a ‘test’ (*Gen* 22:1; *Ex* 15:25; 16:4). In concrete terms, it is rare that individuals immediately understand the ‘goodness’ of what is prescribed; hence, they manifest their faith if they obey even though they do not (fully) understand the goodness of what is prescribed (cf. Pontifical Biblical Commission, *Che cosa è l’uomo? (Sal 8,5). Un itinerario di antropologia biblica*, 2019, 273). \[168\] Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration *Dignitas infinita*, 2 April 2024, 18. \[169\] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution *Gaudium et spes*, 7 December 1965, 14. \[170\] Cf. *Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church*, 451-452. \[171\] John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation *Reconciliatio et paenitentia*, 2 December 1984, 15. On the ‘proliferation of evil’ following the transgression in Eden, see Pontifical Biblical Commission, *Che cosa è l’uomo? (Sal 8,5). Un itinerario di antropologia biblica*, 2019, 302ff.; on the consequences of the transgression, see *ibid.*, 319-324. \[172\] Cf. Pontifical Biblical Commission, *Che cosa è l’uomo? (Sal 8,5). Un itinerario di antropologia biblica*, 2019, 240-241. \[173\] On the Holy Spirit as ‘Person-Love’ and ‘Person-Gift’, see John Paul II, Encyclical Letter *Dominum et Vivificantem*, 18 May 1986, 10; cf. also Augustine, *De Trinitate* V, 11.12; VI, 5.7; Thomas Aquinas, *Summa Theologiae* I, q. 38 a. 2. \[174\] Cf. *Dei Filius*, chap. II: DH 3004 ff. \[175\] Cf. Augustine, *De Trinitate* VII, 6. 12: ‘ *Let us make human beings in our image and likeness* (Gen 1:26) \[...\] This is not to be understood in the sense that it was gods that made human beings or that they made them in the image and likeness of gods, but in the sense that it was the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit who made human beings and therefore *in the image* of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, so that human beings might exist as the *image* of God. Now God is Trinity. But since this *image* of God was not made at all equal to its model, since it was not born of God but was created by Him, to signify this it is said to be an *image* that is “ *in the image of...*”, that is, an image that does not reach the model in terms of equality, but approaches it in terms of a certain resemblance. In fact, one does not approach God by overcoming spatial distance, but by resemblance, and it is by dissimilarity that one distances oneself from Him \[...\] It is because of an imperfect resemblance, as we have said, that human beings are said to be *in the image* and indeed in *our* image, that the human being might be the image of the Trinity; not equal to the Trinity, as the Son is to the Father, but approaching the Trinity, as we have said, through a certain resemblance in the way that distant beings are close not through spatial contact but through imitation. For this reason, it is said: “ *Be transformed by the renewal of your mind* ”(*Rom* 12:2), and to his audience the Apostle also says, “ *Be imitators of God, therefore, as beloved children*.”(*Eph* 5:1) For it is to the new human being that it is said: “ *which is being renewed in the knowledge of God, conforming to the image of its Creator.*”(*Col* 3:10)’; cf. also *De civitate Dei* XI, 2; XXI, 15-16. \[176\] ‘God’s plan for the human being was fully manifest in Jesus alone. He is the definitive human being according to God’s will.’ Benedict XVI, *General Audience*, 9 January 2013. \[177\] Leo XIV, *Address to participants in the Jubilee of Oriental Churches*, 14 May 2025. \[178\] International Theological Commission, *Theology, Christology, Anthropology*, 1981, I, D, 2.3. \[179\] *Ibid*., I, D, 3. \[180\] *Ibid*., I, D, 2.2. The *intellectus fidei* of divinization as the full and definitive ‘beyond’ of human life is at the centre of modern theological reflection. Great theologians of the nineteenth century, such as A. Rosmini, *Antropologia Soprannaturale* (Opere di Antonio Rosmini 39/40), Roma 1983, and M. J. Scheeben, *Handbuch der Katholischen Dogmatik* III/4, Freiburg 1961, §§ 146-180, already treated this topic. The theme of divinization has also attracted the interest of ecumenical dialogue, with promising points of convergence, as emerge in documents from dialogue with the Orthodox Church: *The Mystery of the Church and of the Eucharist in the Light of the Mystery of the Holy Trinity* (1982) and *Faith, Sacraments and the Unity of the Church* (1987). \[181\] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution *Gaudium et spes*, 7 December 1965, 22. \[182\] Cf. Irenaeus, *Adversus Haereses* IV, 38, 3-4: ‘Thus, through this order, these rhythms and this movement, the human being, created and formed, becomes the image and likeness of the uncreated God, the Father benevolently deciding and commanding (*Gen* 1:26), the Son executing and forming (*Gen* 2:7), the Spirit nourishing and giving increase (*Gen* 1:28), and human beings gradually make progress and rise to perfection, that is, they approach the Uncreated; for only the Uncreated is perfect, namely, God. For it was necessary that human beings should first be created, then, having been created receive growth, having grown become adults, having become adults multiply, having multiplied be strengthened, having been strengthened be glorified, and having been glorified look upon their Lord. For God is the one who is to be seen, and the vision of God brings incorruptibility, and incorruptibility brings nearness to God (*Wis* 6:19).’ See also IV, 11, 4; 12, 3; 37, 7; 39, 1. \[183\] Cf*. Catechism of the Catholic Church*, 460. Thomas Aquinas, *Summa Theologiae*, I, q. 43, a. 5. \[184\] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution *Dei Verbum*, 18 November 1965, 3-4. \[185\] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution *Gaudium et spes*, 7 December 1965, 22. \[186\] Still relevant today for reading the signs of the times ‘in Christ’ and for making a critical discernment of that spirit’ which works in separation from Christ and which can inform the visions of *transhumanism* and *posthumanism* is H. de Lubac, *La postérité spirituelle de Joachim de Flore,* Paris 2014. \[187\] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution *Gaudium et spes*, 7 December 1965, 12; John Paul II, Apostolic Letter *Mulieris dignitatem*, 15 August 1988, 7. \[188\] Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter *Caritas in veritate*, 29 June 2009, 53. \[189\] Cf. Francis, Encyclical Letter *Fratelli tutti*, 3 October 2020, 272. \[190\] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution *Gaudium et spes*, 7 December 1965, 24; International Theological Commission, *Communion and Stewardship: Human Persons Created in the Image of God*, 2004, 40-42. \[191\] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution *Lumen gentium*, 21 November 1964, 3; *Catechism of the Catholic Church*, 774-776. \[192\] Cf. Benedict XVI, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation *Sacramentum caritatis*, 22 February 2007, 12. \[193\] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution *Gaudium et spes*, 7 December 1965, 39. Francis, Encyclical Letter *Laudato si’*, 24 May 2015, 236. \[194\] Cf. Francis, Encyclical Letter *Laudato si’*, 24 May 2015, 237. \[195\] Cf. Ambrose, *Hexameron* IX, 76; *Explanatio Ps.* 39, 24; *De institutione virginis*, 104. \[196\] Cf. Thomas Aquinas, *Summa Theologiae,* I-II, q. 112, a. 1. \[197\] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution *Gaudium et spes*, 7 December 1965, 39, 45. Francis, Encyclical Letter *Dilexit nos*, 24 October 2024, 209. \[198\] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Constitution *Sacrosanctum concilium*, 4 December 1963, 103. \[199\] Leo XIV, Apostolic Exhortation *Dilexit te*, 4 October 2025, 2. \[200\] *Ibid*., 3. --- ![[maps/bibliography#^biblio-itc-qvh]]