Bishop John Dolan has established a new Office of Human Dignity within the Diocese of Phoenix.
The action involves the restructuring of several existing offices that have operated under separate umbrellas. It also fulfills a core piece of Catholic Social Teaching that has been emphasized by Pope Francis during his papacy, and more prominently as the Church approached the 2025 Jubilee Year.
As part of the move, Bishop Dolan appointed Fr. Andres Arango, current pastor of St. William Parish in Cashion, Ariz., as the diocese’s new Vicar of Human Dignity. Fr. Arango, who will retain his pastorate at St. William, was installed as vicar this fall, at the Diocesan Pastoral Center in downtown Phoenix. He has pastored St. William since July 2022.
Until now, offices related to human dignity were administered separately.
“So, it was important for us to have this office, and we needed a dedicated person,” the bishop said.
“We needed someone to keep all the current programs running. These include anything having to do with human dignity, such as [offices of] Mental Health, Respect Life, the Prison Ministry, ministries to Native Americans, Black Catholics and Ecumenism and Interreligious Affairs,” Bishop Dolan explained.
“But there is so much more, for example, caring for our planet, immigration and migration.”
Fr. Arango said that his tasks will include putting local action behind Pope Francis’ latest declaration on Human Dignity.
“Dignitas Infinita” — or “infinite dignity” — issued April 2, 2024, states that all human persons are bestowed “an infinite and inalienable dignity” in being created in the image and likeness of God.
“The Church proclaims the equal dignity of all people, regardless of their living conditions or qualities,” Pope Francis wrote.
Fr. Arango said one key to fruitfulness will be promotion.
“He [Bishop Dolan] wants this office to promote life, respect and the value of life before the eyes of God,” Fr. Arango said. “There is no difference [among any of us].”
Over the past weeks, the new vicar in consultation with Bishop Dolan has been planning, and the diocese already has taken some tangible steps.
For example, Fr. Arango said he plans to be more visible among parishes with high Hispanic populations, delivering advice, support and tools to personnel to aid them in their efforts at the local level. He said the bishop plans to be engaged in activities of importance to groups who fall under the office’s umbrella, such as Black Catholics. The bishop recently celebrated with them the annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mass and Service Awards Breakfast.
The office also will work to promote respect for life “from conception to end,” and many other areas, said Fr. Arango.
“This [Vicar of Human Dignity] position really focuses on a person’s general human dignity,” Bishop Dolan explained. “Catholic Social Teaching is born out of that. God found us to be good (Gen. 1:31), and if we lose sight of that — if we forget we have certain inalienable rights born out of the notion that we are good, that’s when Catholic Social Teaching has to kick in, and we have to teach people to get back to goal, to our goodness.”
The office also will promote human dignity’s tie-in to Pope Francis’ Jubilee Year theme, a “Year of Hope,” as well as Year One of Bishop Dolan’s seven-year pastoral plan on evangelization, TILMA.
“We are contacting leaders and planning workshops,” he said.
A key meeting will occur Friday, Jan. 31, at the Diocesan Pastoral Center in downtown Phoenix, where Fr. Andres will welcome priests, deacons, administrators and volunteers from among the 94 local parishes.
“We will explain what our office is doing and wants to do, and how we can support them,” Fr. Arango said.
Year One of the bishop’s pastoral plan urges the faithful to self-reflection and evangelization, sharing the Good News with an eye toward human dignity, among other principles.
“If we are not evangelizing through the lens of human dignity, then we are not evangelizing,” wrote Bishop Dolan.
The Catholic Church as an abundance of guidance.
In its Catechism, the faithful are reminded, “Every human being has the right to live with dignity… even if they are unproductive or were born with or developed limitations. This…[is] a dignity based not on circumstances but on the intrinsic worth of their being” (The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Chapter 1, “The Dignity of the Human Person”).
“Sometimes, we can ‘write off’ people,” Bishop Dolan said. “The concept of Catholic Social Teaching is we can never ‘write off” anyone. Human dignity is really this initial piece we always have to return to.
“[There] is an innate goodness God has planted in each and every one of us. He doesn’t create junk.”
