The Church teaches that the dignity of the human person is at the heart of all Catholic social teaching. Sacred scripture teaches us that God created all human beings in His likeness and image. Then God said: Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness (Gen. :26). Social justice issues happen in our society by violation of peoples human rights by those who exact power and control over weaker members of society. In our world today we see examples of human dignity under attack in the form of abortion, euthanasia, poverty, and acts of violence. In our parish today we address some of these issues head on. For example, in our parish we have a ministry of Respect Life, which is responsible for human dignity issues related to abortion and euthanasia. The Respect Life ministry works to make St. Gilbert parish a center of life, a place where parishioners understand the issues and how meeting the needs of those who are most vulnerable is important, such as mothers and their unborn c
hildren, the elderly, and those who are seriously ill or dying. For those who are in need and struggling to make ends meet, St. Gilbert offers support through the St. Vincent de Paul ministry and the St. Gilbert Food Pantry. But what does our parish do for the human dignity of our parishioners who have succumb to acts of violence, particularly, domestic violence. In a 205 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 25% of women in the US has experienced some form of domestic violence from their spouse. Today, St. Gilbert has no ministry or outreach programs for those men or women whose human dignity has been violated due to domestic violence. Discussing domestic violence can be difficult, but as the numbers show it is real and happens to our loved ones in our parish today. In this article I will discuss the Catholic Church views and teachings on domestic violence and the actions our parish can do to further foster a culture of human dignity in our community.