Freedom and Responsibility
• Humans can initiate and control our
UNIT I LESSON 1: HUMAN DIGNITY IN THE STORY OF
CREATION
A. Human beings as the crowning glory of
God's creation
• First account of creation (Gen 1:26 -
27)

• Simple to complex reality

Exclamation point of creation
• Man is the culmination and
completion of all creation.
• Man is given authority to be of
domination.
o Given dominion over the
creation
• Gn. 1: 27
o Basis of Christian Anthropology
o Foundation of our dignity
§ Anchored from the fact that
we are created in the image
and likeness of God
o Dignitas - 'worth' and 'value'
o Man shouldn’t not trample upon
women.
Image of God (imago deo)
• Presence of God in us
• God is immanent
o God is within us
o He knows us better than we know
ourselves.
 • Evident in the message of St. John
A. The divine image is present in every man.
B. Endowed with 'a spiritual and immortal'
soul
• Differentiates us from animals
• Animals have instinct
• Plants have their nutrition
C. Intellect (knowledge)
• Animals don’t have the rationale; no
self-awareness
 o The man was vulnerable when
• The intellect that capacitates man to
know what's right and wrong
D. Freewill (freedom)
actions.
• We can discern if the things we do are
morally good or bad.
• Absolute freedom: wrong notion of
freedom
• Freedom have a relational aspect that
we are not to trample upon the dignity
and freedom of other. 

o Freedom is not a solitary thing

o Freedom is doing what we
ought to do 

'The State values the dignity of every human
person and guarantees full respect of the
human rights. '
- Philippine Constitution, Article 2
Section 11
A. Human beings as stewards of God's
creation
• Stewardship: a way of life that begins
with acknowledging God
o God as the creator and giver of
all.
o In respond to that: we are to
pay forward.
§ Give what we have to
others.
o Responsible management of the
resources.
o Being grateful and sharing our
blessings to others.
Paul II
o People lack respect for nature
B. Human beings and the talks on gender and
sexuality
• Second account of creation: how God
created man and women
• Sleeping: implies vulnerability of the
person
God created the woman.
o He cannot brag; he was just
used as an instrument.
o Sole creator of woman: God

 • Man and Woman become one flesh
and body: basis of Marriage (Gen 2)
CCC 371
• What is lacking in man should be filled
in by the woman and vice versa
Views of the Church on Homosexuality
• Homosexual acts are sinful.
• We don’t condone sexual acts.
• Preference of the person should be
embraced wholeheartedly

Homosexuals are called to chastity
• Exclusive to our partners
We are equal in dignity regardless our social
status, gender, and race.
EXTRA NOTES ON LESSON 1:
• Imagine of God (imago dei — is the
presence of God in us and is
immanent)
• the divine image is present in every
man
• endowed with a “spiritual and
immortal” soul; his differentiates us
from animals, and it does not only go
with the sou that we have but it comes
with the will and intellect
• intellect (knowledge)
• freewill (freedom)
o CCC 1702 to 1711
Freedom and responsibility
• God created man a rational being,
conferring on him the dignity of a
person who can initiate and control his
own actions (CCC 1730)
• but the exercise of freedom does not
entail the putative right to say or do
anything (CCC 1747) freedom here is
what we ought to do even the
Philippine constitution has something
to do with it
• “the state values the dignity of every
human person and guarantees full
respect for human rights” -- Philippine
Constitution
UNIT I LESSON 2: Human Dignity in the
Redemptive Act of Chris and Introductory
Concepts on Man and Society
News article / video clip of modern day
redemption aided by the Church
"No one can say that you are a hopeless case."
Cardinal Tagle to drug dependents undergoing
rehabilitation
Some Old Testament events showing
redemption through the intervention of God:
a) Protoevangelium
b) Liberation of Israelites from Egyptian
slavery
c) Liberation of Israelites during the time
of the Judges
• The promise of salvation brought about by
sins of our ancestors is fulfilled in Jesus
Christ. He was Incarnated by obedience of
Mary, preached the Gospel, suffered and
died on the Cross for redemption of all.
This is a testament to the dignity of human
beings that despite of the Fall and sinful
nature, God affirms, transcends the
elevated nature of humanity.
• Christ's continues to reveal Himself to us
and expressed in different ways
particularly through our conversion and
redemption.
The Ultimate Destination of our Human
Pilgrimage: to return to the Father
a. Israelites in the Promised Land
 b. Parable of the Prodigal Son by
Pope Francis
A. Israelites in the Promised Land
• In the Old Testament, the Israelites
journeyed to the Promised Land led by
Moses. This pilgrimage of faith from
deliverance from Egyptian slavery to
the land given to them by God so that
He can establish Himself a relationship
that was lost due to sin of Adam. The
covenant that God established with
Abraham, chosen to be the father of a
multitude of nations, opens the way for
the human family to make a return to
the Father.
B. Parable of the Prodigal Son by Pope
Francis
• In the parable of the Prodigal Son, Pope
Francis described the father, with
patience, love, hope, and mercy had
never for a second stopped thinking
about his lost. And as soon as he sees
him still far off, he runs out to meet him
and embraces him with tenderness, the
tenderness of God, without a word of
reproach: his son has returned! and that
causes the joy of the father. In that
embrace for his son, the Pope
exclaimed, is all that joy. The Pope
reminded us that God is always waiting
for us; he never grows tired. Jesus
shows us this merciful patience of God
so that we can regain confidence, hope-
always. God's patience has to call forth
in us the courage to return to him,
however many mistakes and sins there
may be in our life. For we are not
numbers, we are the most important
thing to him.
(Merciful Father, 2016)
• Redemption of those who became slave of sin
finds its foundation to the dignity of human
person and redemption by Christ through the
programs by the Church, government and
other groups.
• example of Restorative Justice being done by
the state:
o The Philippine government adheres and
believes that all persons have dignity
whether one is a criminal or not. Example
of this manifestation is its rehabilitation
programs for those who are law offenders
is the Bureau of Corrections. Its functions
are to safe keep prisoners convicted by
courts, prevent prisoners from
committing crimes, provide inmates
basic needs, ensure rehabilitation
programs are made available to the
inmates for their physical, intellectual and
spiritual development, and develop
livelihood programs to assist inmates
earn a living and develop their skills while
in prison. In fact, one of its core values is
“God centered” where personnel realize
themselves (and inmates) as person of
God.
• The Bureau of Corrections' logo or seal also
summarizes its goal featuring a rehabilitated
inmate (white) while in custody of the seven (7)
prisons and penal farms (bars) thru
educational, therapeutic, productive
approaches and restorative justice. He looks
forward to a brighter future (rays of the sun)
but, would need the assistance of his family
and loved ones, the society and the church, for
him to completely undergo transformation and
re-integrates successfully in the community.
• “Prison life can acquire human features and be
enriched by a spiritual dimension… should be
considered an essential element in a penal
system that is more in conformity with human
dignity.
• Punishment cannot be reduced to mere
retribution, much less take the form of social
retaliation or a sort of institutional vengeance.
Punishment and imprisonment have meaning
if, while maintaining the demands of justice
and discouraging crime, they serve the
rehabilitation of the individual by offering those
who have made a mistake an opportunity to
reflect and to change their lives in order to be
fully reintegrated into society.” St John Paul II
(Jubilee in Prisons, 2009)
Introductory Concepts on Man and Society
 • The human person is by nature a social
being. They are relational beings, who
are free and responsible, recognizes
the necessity of integrating themselves
in cooperation with fellow human
beings, and who is capable of
communion with them. They belong to
various societies such as family, civil
and religious communities, and are
bound together by a principle of unity
and common good.
• Each community is defined by its
purpose and consequently obeys
specific rules; but "the human person
. . . is and ought to be the principle, the
subject and the end of all social
institutions. - CCC 1881
• A society is a group of persons bound
together organically by a principle of
unity that goes beyond each one of
them. As an assembly that is at once
visible and spiritual, a society endures
through time... He rightly owes loyalty
to the communities of which he is part
and respect to those in authority who
have charge of the common good. -
CCC 1880
• Both the Church and the State
recognizes family as the most
important unit of the society.
• It is the original cell of social life. A
natural society in which husband and
wife are called to give themselves in
love and in the gift of life... The family
is the community in which, from
childhood, one can learn moral values,
begin to honor God, and make good
use of freedom. Family life is an
initiation into life in society. - CCC
2207
• Thus, the family must be helped and
defended by appropriate social
measures.
1987 Philippine Constitution: Article XV. The
Family
• Section 1: The State recognizes the
Filipino family as the foundation of the
nation. Accordingly, it shall strengthen
its solidarity and actively promote its
total development.
• Section 2: Marriage, as an inviolable
social institution, is the foundation of
the family and shall be protected by the
State.
• Where families cannot fulfill their
responsibilities, other social bodies have the
duty of helping them and of supporting the
institution of the family. Following the principle
of subsidiarity, larger communities should take
care not to usurp the family's prerogatives or
interfere in its life (CCC 2209)
• For example, the Department of Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD) has a
mandate to take custody of abandoned
children:
o "In response to inquiries on cases
of child abandonment, the
Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD) stressed
that its primary mandate is to
intervene on behalf of abandoned
children to ensure their welfare
and protection. This came at the
heels of cases of children being
abandoned in public places."
o "DSWD can take custody of
abandoned children, foundlings."
Department of Social Welfare and
Development website. March 28,
2018
• To promote the participation of the greatest
number in the life of a society, the creation
of voluntary associations and institutions
must be encouraged... This "socialization"
also expresses the natural tendency for
human beings to associate with one
another for the sake of attaining objectives
that exceed individual capacities. It
develops the qualities of the person,
especially the sense of initiative and
responsibility, and helps guarantee his
rights. (CCC 1882)
• Outlaws also support the formation of these
organizations:
a) 1987 Philippine Constitution Article
XIII. Section 23: The State shall
encourage non-governmental,
community-based, or sectoral
 organizations that promote the welfare
of the nation.
b) Civil Code of the Philippines Article 32
(12): The right to become a member of
associations or societies for purposes
not contrary to law
• Excessive intervention by the state can
threaten personal freedom and initiative.
The teaching of the Church has elaborated
the principle of subsidiarity, according to
which "a community of a higher order
should not interfere in the internal life of a
community of a lower order, depriving the
latter of its functions, but rather should
support it in case of need and help to co-
ordinate its activity with the activities of the
rest of society, always with a view to the
common good." (CCC 1883)
EXTRA NOTES ON HUMAN DIGNITY
- WHAT THE VIDEO CONTAINS:
• what are human rights:
• a number of homo sapiens species
• things to which you are entitled or
allowed
• are the rights you have because you
are simply human
• human rights are the only one that
absolutely applies to everyone and
everywhere; universal
• the right to live
• we are all born free and equal
• 30 human rights (all listed out in a
universal declaration)
• Cyrus the great decided that all slaves
are free to go and choose their own
religion
Natural Law
• get getting tampled on because of
power
• Magna Carta
• 16th century
• all men are created equal
• roman concept of natural law became
natural rights
• young lawyer from Europe; Mahatma
Gandi insisted all humans had rights
around the word
• 90 million people died because of
HITLER
• to reaffirm faith in fundamental rights
in the dignity and worth of the human
person
• french concept of natural rights
became human rights 1948??
• did not have the force of law, it was
optional when the declaration of
human rights were announced
• Luther King, Nelson Mendela
• they are the choices we make as
human beings
• it’s the responsibility we all share to
help each other, respect each other
• they have little meaning everywhere
• they aren’t just words written on a
paper but a whole lot more
HUMAN DIGNITY
• related to goodness, excellence and
self-worth
• Christian perspective: grounded on
three perspectives
o Man: as the image of God
o Man: as the child of God
o Man: as destined for eternal
life
• being in the image of God the human
individual possesses the dignity of a
person, who is not just something, but
someone (CCC 357)
UNIT I LESSON 3: Human Dignity as inviolable
and inalienable
1. Human dignity and human rights
2. The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR)
3. The Catholic social teaching’s view on
human rights
A. What is human rights?
B. Does human rights conform to values
related to human dignity?
C. Does the Church support human rights?
News article on human rights:
Netizen's understanding on human rights:
Human dignity is the foundation of Catholic
Social Teaching
• The permanent validity of the Catholic
Church's social teaching admits of no
doubt. This teaching rests on one basic
principle: individual human beings are
the foundation, the cause and the end
of every social institution. That is
necessarily so, for men are by nature
social beings... On this basic principle,
which guarantees the sacred dignity of
the individual, the Church constructs
her social teaching. (Mater et Magistra
218-220)
• Being in the image of God the human
individual possesses the dignity of a
person, who is not just something, but
someone. (CCC 357)
• Human life is seen to be essentially
social because human beings have
been created in the image of God who
is Trinity and who combines both unity
and relationship in self.
The dignity of human person is:
a. innate (inborn): we were born with it
b. inviolable: cannot be violated
c. inalienable: cannot be taken away from us
d. universal encompasses all humanity
• Persons sometimes exercise power in
a way which dehumanizes other
persons. For this reason, Christian
ethical reflection has arrived at the
category of human rights. Human
rights are a mechanism to control the
exercise of power so that it does not
become dehumanizing of persons.
• Human rights may be defined as those
fundamental rights of human beings
which are essential to the exercise of
human dignity. These rights are
possessed by human beings by the
mere fact of their being human. They
are inherent in their nature, and far
from being privileges by society or by
the state, instead society and the state
have the duty to defend and promote
them.
A Brief Development of Human Dignity in
Relation to Human Rights
1. dignitas by the early Romans & Cicero
2. imago dei by St Leo the Great
3. Great Chain of Beings by St Thomas
Aquinas
4. Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR) by the United Nations
5. Pacem in Terris by St John XXIII &
other Church documents on human
rights
• Early Romans used the term dignitas
referring to people appointed to public
offices and with higher status in the
society. Then Cicero redefined
dignitas referring to all humans by
making distinction against animals
where the former are governed by
 reason while the latter by bodily
pleasures and instinct. To him, dignity
encompasses not only of those who
were persons of authority and wealth
but includes all humanity.
• St. Leo the Great and St. Thomas
Aquinas also used the term dignitas
referring to dignity of human person.
To St Leo, persons have dignity due to
the fact that man is raised up among
other beings and made in God’s image
(imago dei). St Aquinas adopted this
elevated being of St Leo to his concept
of great chain of beings which means
the higher the status of a being, the
more dignity one possess.
• The United Nations was established
(1945) on accounts of horrors
experienced from World War 2
particularly from Nazi Germany and
Imperial Japan. It recognizes the
dignity of every person in Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (1948).
The Preamble and first three articles of
the declaration serve as its foundation
of other rights.
Preamble: Whereas recognition of the inherent
dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of
all members of the human family is the
foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the
world… that human rights should be protected
by the rule of law.
Article 1
• All human beings are born free and
equal in dignity and rights. They are
endowed with reason and conscience
and should act towards one another in a
spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2
• Everyone is entitled to all the rights and
freedoms set forth in this Declaration,
without distinction of any kind, such as
race, color, sex, language, religion,
political or other opinion, national or
social origin, property, birth or other
status. Furthermore, no distinction
shall be made on the basis of the
political, jurisdictional or international
status of the country or territory to which
a person belongs, whether it be
independent, trust, non-self-governing
or under any other limitation of
sovereignty.
Article 3
• Everyone has the right to life, liberty and
security of person.
• Since the Philippines is one of the
signatories of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, our 1987 Philippine
Constitution adheres to these freedoms
through the creation of Commission of
Human Rights and by directing the
government to value the dignity of all
human persons through ensuring full
respect for human rights such as:
1987 Philippine Constitution
Article XIII: Social Justice and Human Rights
• Section 1. The Congress shall give
highest priority to the enactment of
measures that protect and enhance the
right of all the people to human dignity,
reduce social, economic, and political
inequalities, and remove cultural
inequities by equitably diffusing wealth
and political power for the common
good.
• Since the Philippines is one of the
signatories of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, our 1987 Philippine
Constitution adheres to these freedoms
through the creation of Commission of
Human Rights and by directing the
government to value the dignity of all
human persons through ensuring full
respect for human rights such as:
1987 Philippine Constitution
Article XIII: Social Justice and Human Rights
• Section 1: The Congress shall give
highest priority to the enactment of
measures that protect and enhance the
right of all the people to human dignity,
reduce social, economic, and political
inequalities, and remove cultural
inequities by equitably diffusing wealth
and political power for the common
good.

• SECTION 17: (1) There is hereby
created an independent office called
the Commission on Human Rights.
o Note: the first CHR in the
country was established during
Marcos time two days before
the start of People Power 1)
• SECTION 18: The Commission on
Human Rights shall have the following
powers and functions:
1. Investigate, on its own or on complaint
by any party, all forms of human rights
violations involving civil and political
rights;
2. Adopt its operational guidelines and
rules of procedure, and cite for
contempt for violations thereof in
accordance with the Rules of Court;
3. Provide appropriate legal measures for
the protection of human rights of all
persons within the Philippines, as well
as Filipinos residing abroad, and
provide for preventive measures and
legal aid services to the underprivileged
whose human rights have been violated
or need protection;
4. Exercise visitorial powers over jails,
prisons, or detention facilities;
5. Establish a continuing program of
research, education, and information to
enhance respect for the primacy of
human rights;
6. Recommend to the Congress effective
measures to promote human rights and
to provide for compensation to victims
of violations of human rights, or their
families;
7. Monitor the Philippine Government’s
compliance with international treaty
obligations on human rights;
8. Grant immunity from prosecution to
any person whose testimony or whose
possession of documents or other
evidence is necessary or convenient to
determine the truth in any investigation
conducted by it or under its authority;
• St John XXIII's encyclical Pacem in
Terris (1963) was a landmark in the
acceptance by the Catholic Christian
Church of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. For the first time, the
Papal magisterium presents a
relatively complete and systematic
catalogue of human rights,
comparable to those in contemporary
declarations of human rights
promulgated by national or
international entities.
During the 60th anniversary of the Declaration,
the Vatican reaffirmed its support to the goals
of United Nations
• “The Holy See celebrates the 60th
Anniversary of the UDHR, first, by
recalling the great sense of unity,
solidarity and responsibility that led the
United Nations to proclaim universal
human rights as a response to all
persons and peoples weighed down by
the violation of their dignity, a task that
even today challenges us. Then, it has
promoted events, educational
programs, assistance initiatives
worldwide, in particular for children,
women and vulnerable groups, so that
God, as His Holiness Pope Benedict
XVI said on December 10, 2008, "may
allow us to build a world where every
human being will feel accepted in
his/her full dignity, and where relations
among persons and among peoples
are based on respect, dialogue and
solidarity."
 • The chart depicts the levels of rights
and the relationships between them
according to the rights theory found in
the encyclical, Pacem in Terris. Rights
theory in the social tradition recognizes
the importance of the social nature of
the person and role that context plays
in the promotion and guarantee of
rights.
Current issues on human rights that
sometimes perceived as violations against the
rule of law in our country were clarified through
official statements:
• Tokhang Reloaded 2018 version (as
compared to first launching of Tokhang on
2016)
o Philippine National Police (PNP) has
reminded its “Tokhangers” to “always
adhere to the rule of law and respect
the human rights of the drug suspects.”
Chief Supt. Dionado Carlos, PNP
spokesperson, said the aim of Oplan
Tokhang is to persuade the suspected
drug personalities to veer from illegal
activities. He also said that the
intention is to reach out to the drug
suspects and give them a chance to
change.
UNIT II LESSON A: THE SOCIAL MISSION OF THE
CHURCH
Picture of Joey Velasco’s painting
The Church and the Questions of ‘Just
Relations’ among People
• The Church as the forerunner of truth
and justice among the Filipinos
regardless of ethnicity, gender and
religion.
• It is not to be identified with any
political partisan in order to become a
credible herald of peace, justice and
truth; and proponent of unawa
(understanding), awa (mercy) and
gawa (deeds) among people
particularly the marginalized.
A. Respect versus Discrimination
• The Church in the Philippines is
expected to be the advocate of
impartiality that shuns any form of
discrimination, conflict and political
animosity.
• The Church is also called to promote
respect for races, genders, religions
and point of views so that national unity
and healing are attainable.
B. Respect versus Discrimination
• Discrimination and neglect are
obstacles to the full development of
persons and of society as a whole.
• Everyone has a role and needs to have
the opportunity to improve themselves
so that they can take their place in
society and participate fully in the
community they find themselves in.
• This aspiration can only be achieved
through the recognition of people’s
capacities, potentials, and rights as
well as in ensuring that the structures
in the communities and in society as a
whole support this goal.
C. As Agent of Hope and Transformation
• It is through baptism that members of
the Christian community “are called to
a holiness of life in the world befitting
disciples of Jesus.”
• “Discipleship is the fundamental
vocation in which the Church's
mission and ministry find full
meaning.”
• As disciples of Jesus, we are called
into communion with both God and
others and are sent in mission to
proclaim the Good News of the
Kingdom.
 • As disciples, all members of the of God, and she is, on earth, the seed
Church “should everywhere on earth and the beginning of that Kingdom.”
bear witness to Christ and give an • The Church’s mission is the same as it
answer to everyone who asks a reason was yesterday, today, and tomorrow: to
for hope. evangelize the whole world. “It is the
duty of the Church, therefore, in her
Responding to the Demands of our preaching to proclaim the Cross of
Contemporary Communities Christ as the sign of God’s universal
love and the source of all grace
A. The Fact of Religious Pluralism
• The Church recognizes and defends
the fundamental dignity of man to be
free from coercion in matters religious.
• “All men are called in freedom to Jesus
Christ and to his Church, which has a
divine mission…to evangelize the
whole world… so that at the name of
Jesus every knee should bend…and
every tongue confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord…” (Phil 2:10–11).

B. Truthful Tolerance
• Dignitatis Humanae states: “… the
human person has a right to religious
freedom. This freedom means that
o all men are to be immune from
coercion on the part of
individuals or social groups
and of any human power
o no one is to be forced to act in a
manner contrary to his own
beliefs
o Not to be restrained from
acting in accordance with his
own beliefs, whether privately
or publicly, whether alone or in
association with others, within
due limits.
• The right to religious freedom has its
foundation in the very dignity of the
human person, as this dignity is known
through the revealed word of God and
by reason itself.”

C. Fidelity to Proclaim the Kingdom of God

• The Church, endowed with the gifts of
her founder and faithfully observing his
precepts of charity, humility and self-
denial, received the mission of
proclaiming and establishing among
all peoples the Kingdom of Christ and