from Genesis 1:26,27,31
"Then God said, "And now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us... So God created human beings, making them to be like himself... God looked at everything he had made and he was very pleased."
from Psalm 8:5-7
"What are humans that you are mindful of them, mere mortals that you care for them? You have made them little less than angels/gods, crowned them with glory and honor. Your have given them rule over the works of you hands, put all things at their feet."
from Sharing Catholic Social Teaching Challenges and Directions Reflections of the U.S. Catholic Bishops (1998)
"Every human being is created in the image of God and redeemed by Jesus Christ, and therefore is invaluable and worthy of respect as a member of the human family" (p.1).
"Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God’s creation" ( p.5).
from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992)
"Respect for the human person entails respect for the rights that flow from his dignity as a creature...." (#1930)
"Respect for the human person considers the other "another self." It presupposes respect for the fundamental rights that flow from the dignity intrinsic of the person." (#1944)
"The equal dignity of human persons requires the effort to reduce excessive social and economic inequalities. It gives urgency to the elimination of sinful inequalities." (1947)
from the papal encyclical, Rerum Novarum (On the Condition of Workers), Pope Leo XIII, 1891
"The following duties…concern rich men and employers: Workers are not to be treated as slaves; justice demands that the dignity of human personality be respected in them, …gainful occupations are not a mark of shame to man, but rather of respect, as they provide him with and honorable means of supporting life."
"It is shameful and inhuman, however, to use men as things for gain and to put no more value on them than what they are worth in muscle and energy. " (#31)
from The Catholic Northwest Progress, publication of the Archdiocese of Seattle, 9/1/99, article by Rev. William Byron, SJ, "On Human Dignity."