Why is respect owed to everyone in the Church?

Mission Lab

Everyone in the Church deserves our deepest respect since, through Baptism, we are united to Christ in His Mystical Body and become His brothers and sisters. Every human person is created in the image and likeness of God and is precious in His eyes. Our Lord said, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40). We should love and honor each of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Consecration to Christ implies obedience to the Commandments, fulfillment of our duties of state, offering up our sufferings in union with Christ, perseverance in doing all for the love of God, and sacrificing our time, talents, and resources to make Christ known in the world. As Christians we are called to love and respect our brothers and sisters, who have been created in the image and likeness of God, and who, through Baptism, have become children of God and members of Christ’s Mystical Body.