The Vatican’s April 8 statement Dignitatis Infinita (Infinite Dignity) provides a welcome examination of the concept of human dignity, distinguishing proper understanding of the term from current misconceptions. The statement also addresses a litany of “some specific and grave violations” of human dignity. On the list are poverty, war, migrants, human trafficking, sexual abuse, violence against women, abortion, surrogacy, euthanasia and assisted suicide, marginalization of people with disabilities, gender theory, sex change and “digital violence.”

Not surprisingly, the world’s media focused on the current hot button issues of gender theory and sex change. As the Church’s understanding of these issues rarely receive a fair hearing, perhaps that is a good thing.

The section on gender theory denounces the sufferings imposed on those with non-heterosexual orientations. The Church needs to say this often, first to discourage those who would abuse those with LGBT orientations and second to make it clear to the wider public that it opposes such violations.

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The document goes on to state that the gift of human life, in all its dimensions, is a gift from God which should be received with gratitude. A personal assertion of one’s own gender oblivious to one’s biology is to reject God’s gift.

Gender theory denies “the greatest possible difference that exists between living beings: sexual difference.” This theory, or ideology, envisages a society without sexual difference, which would eradicate the basis for the family. Quoting Pope Francis, the section states that the masculine and feminine dimensions of being human are an essential part of creation.

The Vatican’s language is even-toned and, for the most part, does not disparage those who agree with gender theory or who have undergone sex change operations. This is how the Church ought to dialogue with culture:  without hyperbole or incendiary language.

Until recent times, what Dignitatis Infinita said on this issue would have been widely accepted, and many would have wondered why it even needed saying. But for many today, the Vatican’s comments are almost unintelligible. It is simply assumed, and not just by those who subscribe to gender theory, that one’s personal identity is something individuals decide for themselves.

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To correct that assumption, one needs to go back to the first part of the Vatican document. Human dignity is grounded in the nature of the human person and thus requires unconditional respect even from the person who is the possessor of rights. All people are created in God’s image and likeness.

Moreover, people are not isolated beings with no responsibility for the common good. Instead, they are fulfilled through their relationships with God, other people and creation. If we see ourselves as individuals who are privileged to create our own identity independent of all relationships, the notion of the common good becomes incomprehensible.

All this is needs to be said. Still, Dignitatis Infinita never mentions the experience of those who suffer gender dysphoria. Its philosophy is correct, but can we simply ignore the “dis-ease” of those who feel their body does not accord with their self-awareness?

This “dis-ease” seems to be more widespread in current times. If so, we should at least attempt to discern why that is so. Are people deluding themselves when they say, for example, that they feel they are a woman in a man’s body? Have they been manipulated at an early age by a false ideology? Does contemporary society contribute in some way to their gender dysphoria? More than simply analyzing various philosophies, the Church needs to address these questions.

Technology, bureaucracy and consumerism have distorted our sense of what it means to be human. They have made us passive recipients of our destiny. They treat people as objects more than as persons with great dignity.

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Jesus was not a social psychologist. But neither did he spend much time laying down moral norms. Instead, he was a healer and liberator. Before urging people to repent, he affirmed their full human dignity in the face of those who denied it. Should the Church today not also play a role in liberating those whose dignity is compromised?

Good philosophy and theology are crucial to the Church’s mission. Even more so is listening to the voices of those oppressed or disturbed. Most Christians are not intellectuals, but all have the ability and duty to offer the gift of their presence. So when the Church speaks about our dignity, it should also be a voice for those whose dignity has been undermined so that their dignity may be restored.