Christian's Response to Bullying
The roots of Catholic Charities' response to bullying can be discovered in the
writings and documents put forth by the Catholic Church's leadership on human dignity. In his 1963 encyclical, Pacem in terris, Pope John XXIII wrote, "Any human society, if it is to be well-ordered and productive, must lay down as a foundation this principle, namely, that every human being is a person." It is in the words of John XXIII that we find a reassurance of the absolute dignity of all human beings. When one child bullies another, we cannot merely turn a blind eye as the bully denies dignity to another human being. As Roman Catholics, and as people seeking to live a moral life, we must condemn bullying as being antithetical to the Christian way of life and to the very understanding of what it means to be a human being. By protecting children from bullying, we are further recognizing that "Human persons are willed by God" and that "they are imprinted with God's image" (Centesimus annus). When a child is bullied, the bully is not merely calling another human being names, but rather they are desecrating a person who has been created in the very image of God. |
As Catholics, Christians, people of faith, and human beings, we must say no to
bullying and stand up to such with clear expressions of love and peace. We are called to protect the dignity of every human person. We must live as examples for today's young people, so that future generations will grow-up in a world that ensures that schools and playgrounds are safe for all children without exception. We must recognize that bullying is an attack on human dignity and, therefore, we must stand in solidarity with the victims of bullying so as to call for an end to such. In the words of Blessed John Paul II, "Life, especially human life, belongs to God; whoever attacks human life attacks God's very self" (Evangelium vitae). Let us all hope that Catholic Churches across the country and around the world embrace the example set by Catholic Charities by talking openly in their communities about bullying and the pain it causes for countless children. Catholic social teaching reminds us that we are to be active in our protection of human life and there can be no doubt that bullying is an attack on human life itself. Let us talk honestly about bullying and respond to it with love, so as to work toward a world that values all human beings without exception, especially society's most vulnerable- our children. |