Justice and Human Rights: Reflections on the Address of Pope Benedict to the UN

The topic of human rights was prominent in Pope Benedict ’ s address to the United Nations General Assembly in the year of the Universal Declaration’s 60th anniversary. 1 As with many of Pope Benedict’s speeches, his 18 April address to the United Nations is one in which some rather complex ideas are expressed in a very condensed fashion. It is a speech that needs, as they say, to be ‘ unpacked ’ . Today, the UDHR has become the single most important common reference point for cross-national discussions of decent human behaviour, and the language of rights has become the principal language for carrying on those discussions. Pope Benedict took those facts as his starting point, noting that ‘ Human rights are increasingly being presented as the common language and ethical substratum of international relations. ’ But success has had its costs. For the more the international human rights idea has shown its power, the more intense has become the struggle to capture that power for various ends, not all of which are respectful of human dignity. In 1948, many scoffed at the idea that mere words could make a difference. By 1989, the world was marvelling that a few simple words of truth – a few courageous people willing to ‘ call good and evil by name ’ – could change the course of history. Sometimes, however, the same words that once were rays of light can become lethal arrows. And sometimes our most noble human enterprises can take a wrong turn. Who would have thought that the human rights project could become so powerful that it risked being turned against itself, and against the human person? That question comes to mind when one ponders Pope Benedict’s pointed discussion of the challenges facing human rights at the present time. The Pope began his discussion with praise for the UDHR, describing it as the outcome of a process designed ‘ to place the human person at the heart of institutions, laws, and the workings of society ’ . And he credited it with having enabled ‘ different