The Church gratefully acknowledges that “the movement toward the identification and proclamation of human rights is one of the most significant attempts to respond effectively to the inescapable demands of human dignity.” 64Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 152. In this regard, Saint John Paul II stated that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed by the United Nations on 10 December 1948, remains one of the highest expressions of the human conscience of our time. 65Cf. Saint John Paul II, Address to the 50th General Assembly of the United Nations (5 October 1995), 2: Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II, vol. XVIII/2, Vatican City 1998, 731. It is “a milestone on the long and difficult path of the human race.” 66Saint John Paul II, Address to the 34th General Assembly of the United Nations (2 October 1979), 7: AAS 71 (1979), 1148. For this reason, from the Christian perspective, human rights are not an external addition to the person, but an expression of intrinsic human dignity, which the international community is called to protect and promote.
Human rights are inviolable, since they are “inherent in the human person and in human dignity.” 67Saint John Paul II, Message for the 32nd World Day of Peace (1 January 1999), 3: AAS 91 (1999), 379. Consequently, they are universal and inalienable. 68Cf. Saint John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris (11 April 1963), 5: AAS 55 (1963), 259. Precisely because they are grounded in the common dignity of every man and woman, they have practical consequences and legal effects, for “it would be vain to proclaim human rights if, at the same time, everything were not done to ensure the duty of respecting them, respect by all, in all places and for all.” 69Saint Paul VI, Message to the International Conference on Human Rights (15 April 1968): AAS 60 (1968), 285. Among these rights, the first is the right to life, from conception to its natural end, 70Cf. Saint John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Evangelium Vitae (25 March 1995), 2: AAS 87 (1995), 402. without which it is impossible to exercise any other right. When this fundamental right is denied — as in the cases of induced abortion, killing of the innocent and euthanasia — we are faced with choices that the Church considers gravely wrong. 71Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 27: AAS 58 (1966), 1047-1048; cf. Saint John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Veritatis Splendor (6 August 1993), 80: AAS 85 (1993), 1197-1198; cf. Saint John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Evangelium Vitae (25 March 1995), 7-28: AAS 87 (1995), 408-427.
Looking at our own time, we cannot ignore the fact that the protection of human rights has been exposed to two particularly serious dangers. The first is that these rights are declared in a purely formal sense, while technological progress continues alongside covert or overt violations of human dignity. The second, which is in fact the root of the first, is the inability to recognize the foundation of their universality, since we have abandoned “the search for the solid foundations sustaining our decisions and our laws.” 72Francis, Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti (3 October 2020), 208: AAS 112 (2020), 1043. Pope Francis urged us not to underestimate this last issue. He pointed out that when reason seriously examines human nature, it is capable of discovering values that apply to everyone, since they derive from human nature. If this task of inquiry were abandoned, it is conceivable that rights considered untouchable today might, in the future, end up being questioned or denied by those in power, perhaps after having obtained only an apparent consensus from populations that are frightened or manipulated. 73Cf. ibid., 209: AAS 112 (2020), 1043-1044.
Along with a greater awareness of the value of every human person and their rights, recognition of minority rights has also grown. Yet, there is still a long way to go to ensure that the rights of a great many, namely women, are equally and genuinely guaranteed throughout the world. It is a fact that “doubly poor are those women who endure situations of exclusion, mistreatment and violence, since they are frequently less able to defend their rights.” 74Ibid., 23: AAS 112 (2020), 977. Cf. Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (24 November 2013), 212: AAS 105 (2013), 1108. It is, therefore, not enough to state simply that men and women have equal dignity and rights; it is necessary that this be reflected in concrete decisions, such as in laws, access to employment, education, social and political responsibilities, and the way society listens to and values women’s contributions. As long as this gap persists, we cannot say that society truly and fully recognizes that women have the same dignity as men.
It is individuals that matter, each and every person, together with their families. Social movements, communal ideologies and grand political proclamations in favor of a population are worthless unless they lead to the flourishing of persons — men and women — with their inalienable rights. Similarly, it is not enough to extol individual freedom or private enterprise if we then allow a multitude of people to continue living without decent work, protections or access to basic necessities.