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Pope Francis on the Church’s Commitment to Universal Human Rights
JANUARY 31, 2018 MILLENNIAL
Here are highlights of Pope Francis’ speech to the members of the
diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See:
In its relations with civil authorities, the Holy See seeks only to
promote the spiritual and material well-being of the human person and
to pursue the common good.
For the Holy See, to speak of human rights means above all to restate
the centrality of the human person, willed and created by God in his
image and likeness.
From a Christian perspective, there is a significant relation between
the Gospel message and the recognition of human rights in the spirit
of those who drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Those rights are premised on the nature objectively shared by the
human race. They were proclaimed in order to remove the barriers that
divide the human family and to favor what the Church’s social doctrine
calls integral human development, since it entails fostering “the
development of each man and of the whole man… and humanity as a
whole”.
Somewhat paradoxically, there is a risk that, in the very name of
human rights, we will see the rise of modern forms of ideological
colonization by the stronger and the wealthier, to the detriment of
the poorer and the most vulnerable. At the same time, it should be
recalled that the traditions of individual peoples cannot be invoked
as a pretext for disregarding the due respect for the fundamental
rights proclaimed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
At a distance of seventy years, it is painful to see how many
fundamental rights continue to be violated today. First among all of
these is the right of every human person to life, liberty and personal security. It is not only war or violence that infringes these rights.
In our day, there are more subtle means: I think primarily of innocent
children discarded even before they are born, unwanted at times simply
because they are ill or malformed, or as a result of the selfishness
of adults. I think of the elderly, who are often cast aside,
especially when infirm and viewed as a burden. I think of women who
repeatedly suffer from violence and oppression, even within their own
families. I think too of the victims of human trafficking, which
violates the prohibition of every form of slavery. How many persons, especially those fleeing from poverty and war, have fallen prey to
such commerce perpetrated by unscrupulous individuals?
Defending the right to life and physical integrity also means
safeguarding the right to health on the part of individuals and their
families. Today this right has assumed implications beyond the
original intentions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
which sought to affirm the right of every individual to receive
medical care and necessary social services. In this regard, it is my
hope that efforts will be made within the appropriate international
forums to facilitate, in the first place, ready access to medical care
and treatment on the part of all. It is important to join forces in
order to implement policies that ensure, at affordable costs, the
provision of medicines essential for the survival of those in need,
without neglecting the area of research and the development of
treatments that, albeit not financially profitable, are essential for
saving human lives.
Everyone, in his or her own situation, should work actively to
eliminate the causes of misery and build bridges of fraternity, the
fundamental premise for authentic human development.
The right to form a family, as a “natural and fundamental group unit
of society… is entitled to protection by society and the state”, and
is recognized by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
I consider it urgent, then, that genuine policies be adopted to
support the family, on which the future and the development of states
depend. Without this, it is not possible to create societies capable
of meeting the challenges of the future. Disregard for families has
another dramatic effect – particularly present in some parts of the
world – namely, a decline in the birth rate.
At the same time, we cannot forget the situation of families torn
apart by poverty, war and migration. All too often, we see with our
own eyes the tragedy of children who, unaccompanied, cross the borders
between the south and the north of our world, and often fall victim to
human trafficking.
The arrival of migrants should spur Europe to recover its cultural and religious heritage, so that, with a renewed consciousness of the
values on which the continent was built, it can keep alive her own
tradition while continuing to be a place of welcome, a herald of peace
and of development.
Among the human rights that I would also like to mention today is the
right to freedom of thought, conscience and of religion, including the
freedom to change religion. Sad to say, it is well-known that the
right to religious freedom is often disregarded, and not infrequently
religion becomes either an occasion for the ideological justification
of new forms of extremism or a pretext for the social marginalization
of believers, if not their downright persecution. The condition for
building inclusive societies is the integral comprehension of the
human person, who can feel himself or herself truly accepted when
recognized and accepted in all the dimensions that constitute his or
her identity, including the religious dimension.
Finally, I wish to recall the importance of the right to employment.
There can be no peace or development if individuals are not given the
chance to contribute personally by their own labor to the growth of
the common good.
The demands of profit, dictated by globalization, have led to a
progressive reduction of times and days of rest, with the result that
a fundamental dimension of life has been lost – that of rest – which
serves to regenerate persons not only physically but also spiritually.
We cannot think of planning a better future, or hope to build more
inclusive societies, if we continue to maintain economic models
directed to profit alone and the exploitation of those who are most
vulnerable, such as children. Eliminating the structural causes of
this scourge should be a priority of governments and international organizations, which are called to intensify efforts to adopt
integrated strategies and coordinated policies aimed at putting an end
to child labor in all its forms.
In recalling some of the rights contained in the 1948 Universal
Declaration, I do not mean to overlook one of its important aspects,
namely, the recognition that every individual also has duties towards
the community, for the sake of “meeting the just requirements of
morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic
society”.
Among today’s particularly pressing duties is that of caring for our earth….Climate changes, with the global rise in temperatures and their devastating effects, are also a consequence of human activity. Hence
there is a need to take up, in a united effort, the responsibility of
leaving to coming generations a more beautiful and livable world, and
to work, in the light of the commitments agreed upon in Paris in 2015,
for the reduction of gas emissions that harm the atmosphere and human
health.
https://t.co/yhzVRqwy2v
--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web:
http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog:
http://khanya.wordpress.com
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