Youcat commented through CCC - Question n. 56 - Part I.

YOUCAT Question n. 56 - Part I. Does man have a special place in creation?

(Youcat answer) Yes. Man is the summit of creation, because God created him in his image (Gen 1:27).        

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 343) Man is the summit of the Creator's work, as the inspired account expresses by clearly distinguishing the creation of man from that of the other creatures (Cf. Gen 1-26). (CCC 353) God willed the diversity of his creatures and their own particular goodness, their interdependence and their order. He destined all material creatures for the good of the human race. Man, and through him all creation, is destined for the glory of God.        

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) The creation of man is clearly distinguished from the creation of other living things. Man is a person, which means that through his understanding and will he can decide for or against love.

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 344) There is a solidarity among all creatures arising from the fact that all have the same Creator and are all ordered to his glory: May you be praised, O Lord, in all your creatures, especially brother sun, by whom you give us light for the day; he is beautiful, radiating great splendor, and offering us a symbol of you, the Most High…. May you be praised, my Lord, for sister water, who is very useful and humble, precious and chaste…. May you be praised, my Lord, for sister earth, our mother, who bears and feeds us, and produces the variety of fruits and dappled flowers and grasses…. Praise and bless my Lord, give thanks and serve him in all humility (St. Francis of Assisi, Canticle of the Creatures).    

(This question: Does man have a special place in creation? is continued)