by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Writer
(April 18, 2008) Pope Benedict told diplomats at the United Nations that respect for human rights was the key to solving many of the world’s problems. Because human rights are inherent to human persons and are not the fruit of an “agreement,” they should not be manipulated by ideological and pressure groups.
Speaking in French, he acknowledged the importance of the work of the U.N. but raised concerns that power is concentrated among just a handful of players.
“Multilateral consensus continues to be in crisis,” he said, while speaking in French, “because it is still subordinated to the decisions of a small number.”
While referring to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, the Holy Father pointed out that human dignity is the foundation of rights, and these rights have their origin in “the natural law inscribed on human hearts and present in different cultures and civilizations.”
If these rights are divorced from the context of natural law, it would mean “restricting their range and yielding to a relativistic conception . . .”
Human rights serve as the guarantee safeguarding human dignity, he said. “It is evident, though, that the rights recognized and expounded in the Declaration apply to everyone by virtue of the common origin of the person, who remains the high-point of God’s creative design for the world and for history.”
The promotion of human rights remains the most effective strategy for eliminating inequalities between countries and social groups, and for increasing security, he said.
“Indeed, the victims of hardship and despair, whose human dignity is violated with impunity, become easy prey to the call to violence, and they can then become violators of peace.”
Yet if these rights are based just on their authority as laws, “they risk becoming weak propositions divorced from the ethical and rational dimension which is their foundation and their goal.”
Human rights must be respected “as an expression of justice,” he said, “and not merely because they are enforceable through the will of the legislators.”
Yet if these rights are based just on their authority as laws, “they risk becoming weak propositions divorced from the ethical and rational dimension which is their foundation and their goal.”
Pope Benedict is only the third pope to address the United Nations and made the remarks after arriving in New York City this morning. After being greeted at the airport by New York Cardinal Edward Egan, he was taken by helicopter into Manhattan.
Supporters were waiting for him when he arrived at the U.N. A Hispanic contingent gathered behind police barricades shouting “Benedetto!” while a small group of Catholics from New Jersey waved signs welcoming him in German “Willkommen Pope Benedict XVI.” Young people waved signs reading “You Rock!”
Before addressing the General Assembly, he met privately with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for 15 minutes.
The pope’s New York stay includes an ecumenical meeting in St. Joseph’s Church tonight, followed by a Mass for priests, men and women religious in St. Patrick’s Cathedral and a meeting with young people and seminarians at St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers on Saturday.
The Holy Father’s last day in the U.S. includes an historic visit to Ground Zero followed by a 2:30 p.m. Mass in Yankee Stadium. He will depart for Rome at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday evening.
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