CHURCH THAT IS RELEVANT FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN KWAZULU- NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA
5.1. INTRODUCTION
Chapter one explored the existential reality of the human situation of children with disabilities. The second chapter gave an outline of the various possible reasons why infants are abandoned, dumped, or killed. The third chapter established the scientific research question, which dealt with the different perceptions and understanding of the concept of human dignity. The assumption is that the misunderstanding of the concept of human dignity has partly played a major role in people’s perception towards children with disabilities. The implications behind the various concepts of human dignity weighed heavily on the weak and those who cannot defend themselves. As previously noted, children with disabilities belong to the category of those who are weak and defenceless. They are one of the most vulnerable groups of people in society. The various notions of human dignity indicated to some degree the extent to which they influence human action, particularly when a child with disabilities is born. The fourth chapter examined the various concepts of human dignity and outlined dominant concepts which have a noticeable bearing on the human mind. In this chapter, various concepts were examined and evaluated in relation to children with disabilities. The evaluation was based on the theological concepts of human dignity outlined in Gaudium et Spes and Evangelium Vitae i.e. as image and likeness of God and sanctity of life theory respectively. These two documents represent the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, as promulgated in the Social Doctrine of the Church, which constitutes the Social Teaching of the Roman Catholic Church on questions of morality and faith.1021 The elimination of unwanted children is one of the major bioethical issues of our time.1022 The current project is directed towards establishing a theology of human dignity, based on what the Roman Catholic Church teaches in her social encyclicals. This is the underlying basis for making
1021 Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, (2004), The Social Doctrine and the Personalist Principle in Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Nairobi: Pauline’s Publications Africa, 61-86.
1022 Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, (2008), Dignitas Personae, Instruction on Certain Bioethical Questions, Vatican: Article No.3-4. In recent decades, medical science has made significant strides in understanding human life in its initial stages. Human biological structures and the process of human generation are better known. These developments are certainly positive and worthy of support when they serve to overcome or correct pathologies and succeed in re-establishing the normal functioning of human procreation.
On the other hand, they are negative and cannot be utilized when they involve the destruction of human beings or when they employ means which contradict the dignity of a person or when they are used for purposes contrary to the integral good of mankind.
the two documents reference points and guides to the evaluation of the various concepts of human dignity which, finally, will act as a platform on which the formulation of a theology of human dignity will be based. Having discussed the existential problem, establishing the scientific research problem which dealt with the various paradigms of the concept of human dignity and their implications, Gaudium et Spes and Evangelium Vitae became the main resource materials. The documents gave insight into the proper understanding of the various concepts of human dignity. Therefore, in view of the wide theological discussion, the fifth chapter will formulate a theology of human dignity for children with disabilities. Chapter five will consider the central theological normative of human dignity, as given in the social teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, given in Gaudium et Spes and Evangelium Vitae.
In the process, the chapter will consider one of the basic elements, i.e. “what determines the value of a person’s life?” Is it the mere fact of the preservation of human life or it is based on the understanding that a child with disabilities ought to be relieved from suffering and pain? The chapter will deal with the question of the permissibility and the justification of killing a child with disabilities. Finally, having considered all the variables involved, the project will formulate a theology of human dignity which will consider integral human development at large and a theology that would be meaningful and proper to children with disabilities.
5.2. THE CENTRAL THEOLOGICAL NORMATIVES OF HUMAN DIGNITY IN THE SOCIAL TEACHING OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
We have the basic human values delineated in the Social Teaching of the Roman Catholic Church upon which we based our arguments and from which we drew our moral authority. Some of the central theological normative of human dignity were established right from the Biblical creation story in the book of Genesis.1023 Further to the creation narrative, it presented to us the existential reality of original sin, which has, throughout the ages, had an enormous impact on the human being.1024 By implication of the original sin as Paul stated, the tendency to do evil has, to some degree, stimulated people to abandon, dump or kill their own children who have been regarded as unwanted in the
1023 Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, (2004), The Social Doctrine and the Personalist Principle in Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Nairobi: Pauline’s Publications Africa, 61-86. Article No.
108 talks about a human person as the ‘Imago Dei’ saying that the fundamental message of Sacred Scripture proclaims that the human person is a creature of God and sees in his/her being in the image of God the element that characterizes and distinguishes him/her. God places the human creation at the centre and summit of the created order. Being in the image of God, the human person possesses the dignity of a person who is not just something but someone.
1024 Ibid. Article No. 115 states that this marvellous vision of man’s creation by God is inseparable from the tragic appearance of original sin. With a clear affirmation, the Apostle Paul sums up the account of man’s fall contained in the first pages of the Bible saying: ‘Sin came into the world through one man and death through sin.’ Romans 5:12.
family. From the creation story of Adam and Eve, we come to realize the first theological normative, i.e. the sovereignty of God as the source of all that existed.1025 The sovereignty of God entails the limited power and authority of all human institutions.1026 In this case, God is presented as the Lord of all creation and the source of all exists. As human beings, whatever state we are in, we belong to God and it is only God who has absolute power over each one of us. We therefore have limited power and authority over even what we call our own child. To influence the end of someone’s life would be an open challenge to the sovereignty of God over us. By extension, the sovereignty of God in this regard brings about the primacy of an individual person. This is based on Kant’s idea of human dignity, which states that any person has an intrinsic worth which makes each person valuable.1027 The normative above i.e. primacy of an individual person, indicated the inviolability of human life.1028 No government or private institution may claim authority over someone’s life, except in those legal cases where the person in question forfeits his or her own right to life, by committing crimes that are threats to other lives. There are other instances where someone’s life may be taken indirectly e.g. when medical professionals are conducting a therapeutic operation that would result in the death of a child.1029 These are exceptional cases, open to discussion, but anything outside such realms would be tantamount to the betrayal of human life. It is in this context that the sovereignty of God applies. The idea of God’s sovereignty over us leads to one of the basic ethical principle regarding the patient’s autonomy.1030 Determining the fate of the child with disabilities would be regarded as an extreme violation of the child’s inherent right to life.
Contrary to the above reality check from the theological point of view, the existential reality in KwaZulu-Natal remains crucial and challenging on a social level. The state of being physically and mentally disabled is critical bearing the socio-economic, political, and cultural dynamics of the region in contrast to the global phenomenon. The autonomy of the child with disabilities is compromised in some quarters of the region particularly some primary care-givers.1031 Persons with
1025 The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article No. 303. The witness of Scripture is unanimous that the solicitude of divine providence is concrete and immediate; God cares for all, from the least things to the great events of the world and its history. The sacred books powerfully affirm God’s absolute sovereignty over the course of events.
1026 Robbins, J.W., (2011), The Ethics and Economics of Health Care in Biblical Medical Ethics, Inc., Vol.8, Issue No. 2. In http://www.bmei.org, 2011/11/17, 07:54.
1027 Kant, E., (2011), The Idea of Human Dignity and Respect for Persons in http://www.wutsamada.com, Chapter 10, 2011/11/16, 10:47am.
1028 ‘Primacy of an Individual Person’: The Pro-Life Campaign Movement uses this phrase as a central animating claim that each human being is intrinsically equal in basic dignity, valuable and irreplaceable regardless of his/her age, size, location, race, sex, usefulness, burdensomeness to others, her/his lack of certain favoured physical or mental capacities or worth assigned to him/her. The discourse is also making use of this phrase in the same delineation of its meaning in relation to children with disabilities.
1029 Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, (2008), Dignitas Personae, Instruction on Certain Bioethical Questions, Vatican: Article No.3-4.
1030 Beauchamp, T.L. and Childress, J.F., (2009), Principles of Biomedical Ethics, New York: Oxford University Press, 6th Edition, 38-39. An agreement to respect another’s right to self-determination of the course of action in full support of an independent decision making and best interest of the patient.
1031 Wegner, L. and Rhoda, A., (2015), The Influence of Cultural Beliefs on the Utilization of Rehabilitation Services in a Rural South African Context: Therapists’ Perspective, in African Journal of Disabilities, 4(1), Article No. 128, 8, Sunningdale: University of Western Cape Publishers, 2-8. The theme of cultural beliefs as