7 Pope Francis Quotes About Dignity

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In John 13:34-35, Jesus told His disciples “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye also love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” Despite the turmoil in the world, Jesus’ commandment endures. It’s unshakable and revitalizing. But with so much conflict and so many distractions, it’s not easy to follow.

Fortunately, there’s something we can see in each other that helps. It’s dignity. From the beginning of his pontificate, it’s something that Pope Francis has spoken about on several occasions. Here are seven powerful quotes from the pontiff that help shed light on human dignity.

The Lord’s Love Brings Us Dignity

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On April 10, 2013, Pope Francis spoke, at a morning Mass, about how our dignity was returned to us when Jesus humbled Himself by living among humanity and saving us by dying on the Cross and rising for us. The pontiff asked the crowd to proclaim their faith. He said “Lord, I believe. I believe in Your love. I believe that Your love has saved me. I believe that Your love has given me a dignity that I did not have. I believe that Your love gives me hope.”

Pope Francis has repeatedly reminded everyone that all life is precious and valuable beyond measure. The Lord died to bring salvation to the world. With that amazing and ultimate gift, He also returned to us the gift of dignity. And it’s a gift that is also precious and one that brings us together.

Grace Can Transform Us

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“The fullness of grace can transform the human heart and enable it to do something so great as to change the course of human history,” said Pope Francis to the crowd, during the rite of the opening of the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica. The Dec. 8, 2015 ceremony followed a Mass for the feast of the Immaculate Conception. The opening of the door – which has only been opened six other times in the past 100 years – inaugurated the extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy.

Through God’s love, mercy and grace, Jesus saved us from sin and restored dignity to our souls. When we have difficulty recognizing the innate dignity of our fellow human beings, we can ask God to give us the grace to see it.

Don’t Forget Our Dignity

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“No system can completely suppress our openness to what is good, true and beautiful, or our God-given ability to respond to His grace at work deep in our hearts. I appeal to everyone throughout the world not to forget this dignity which is ours. No one has the right to take it from us,” writes Pope Francis in his 2015 encyclical entitled “Laudato Si’ of the Holy Father Francis on Care for Our Common Home.”

It’s a striking and enriching declaration. Pope Francis is reminding us that we have that same dignity that was given to all of humanity. If we believe that we were wonderfully made in the image and likeness of God, and if we believe that Jesus, Our Savior, humbled Himself greatly for our sake and gave His life and was resurrected to save us, how can we not see the dignity in ourselves? It’s a gift that will also help us to see the dignity in others and to follow Jesus’ commandment to love them.

Call Upon the Holy Family

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In December 2013, during the Feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth, Pope Francis spoke to a crowd in Saint Peter’s Square. He talked about the love and simplicity present in the Holy Family’s life in Nazareth and how the Holy Family is a model for families today. He also spoke about how families are an important part of societies around the world and how they can fulfill the good works that God calls them to do. Not only does he want them to be able to fulfill those missions, he wants them to be able to do so with dignity and peace.

Pope Francis advised “The proclamation of the Gospel, in fact, first passes through the family to reach the various spheres of daily life. Let us fervently call upon Mary Most Holy, the Mother of Jesus and our Mother, and St Joseph her spouse. Let us ask them to enlighten, comfort and guide every family in the world, so that they may fulfill with dignity and peace the mission which God has entrusted to them.”

Help the Poor Live According to Their Inalienable Dignity

In “Laudato Si’ of the Holy Father Francis on Care for Our Common Home,” Pope Francis also writes about how important it is that everyone be given access to clean water. He says that every day, unsafe water causes suffering, infant mortality and many deaths of adults and children. In the famous encyclical, the pope encourages people to help those living in poverty, throughout the world, to live according to the dignity God gives to everyone. Although he’s writing about the importance of clean water, he wants us to help the poor live according to their innate dignity in other ways as well.

He writes “Our world has a grave social debt towards the poor who lack access to drinking water, because they are denied the right to a life consistent with their inalienable dignity. This debt can be paid partly by an increase in funding to provide clean water and sanitary services among the poor.”

Don’t Discard Humanity

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In January of 2014, Pope Francis also spoke about the denial of the right to live according to that same inalienable dignity when he addressed members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See. He spoke of how peace is threatened by “every denial of human dignity,” including the lack of food and proper nutrition for adults and, particularly, children. He shared how hunger persists despite what he calls the “the throwaway culture” that wastes food in parts of the world. But he also spoke passionately against the blatant disregard for human dignity found in practices such as human trafficking.

“Unfortunately, what is thrown away is not only food and dispensable objects, but often human beings themselves, who are discarded as ‘unnecessary,’” said Pope Francis. “For example, it is frightful even to think there are children, victims of abortion, who will never see the light of day; children being used as soldiers, abused and killed in armed conflicts; and children being bought and sold in that terrible form of modern slavery which is human trafficking, which is a crime against humanity.”

Guard Against an “Economy of Exclusion”

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In the apostolic exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium of the Holy Father Francis to the Bishops, Clergy, Consecrated Persons and the Lay Faithful on the Proclamation of the Gospel in Today’s World,” Pope Francis writes about that same “throwaway culture.” He asks people to guard against an “economy of exclusion” that uses people and discards them, forcing them to become outcasts of society. He says that once they have been cast out of society because of their poverty, society sees them as “a mere spectacle,” rather than being moved by their situations and their cries for help. They are no longer treated with the dignity they deserve.

He writes “Such an economy kills. How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points? This is a case of exclusion.”