Editorial: Dignitas Infinita, the Inspirational Paradigm and the ongoing quest to form business leaders committed to a just social order in which all can flourish

On April 08, 2024, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith released a declaration, approved by Pope Francis, titled Dignitas Infinita. The Dicastery is the department of the Catholic Church in Rome that oversees religious discipline and is the oldest department in the Roman Curia. Dignitas Infinita which was drafted over a five-year timeframe beginning in March 2019 begins with the statement that “Every human person possesses an infinite dignity, inalienably grounded in his or her very being, which prevails in and beyond every circumstance, state, or situation the person may ever encounter.” Such an understanding of dignity is an ontological one that holds that the dignity of the person flows simply because the person exists and is willed, created, and loved by God. In this view, dignity is intrinsic to the person, it is not conferred subsequently nor is it prior to any recognition and it cannot be lost. The declaration also identifies three other aspects of dignity: moral, social, and existential. Moral dignity refers to how people use their freedom to make choices. Social dignity refers to the person’s living conditions and existential dignity refers to living a dignified life or not.