D
DL82
Guest
I was at a wonderful lecture given by Cardinal Mario Conti, Archbishop of Glasgow on Catholic education and Catholic social teaching at the weekend. He made one point that I think is worth repeating here:
Children today grow up in a culture where more than ever before they are aware of their rights, and this is a wonderful thing. The Catholic Church has always supported human rights, and views them as inherent to the human person. It devalues the idea of rights if they are seen as something the state can simply give (or take away) because of the campaigning of particular groups.
I’m paraphrasing here, and what I’ve written above doesn’t do justice to the Archbishop’s words, but I just thought it was an important perspective to add. Particularly with regard to the pro-life movement (though Cardinal Conti didn’t mention them in his lecture, that wasn’t the focus of the day) it is encouraging to remember that the right to life of the unborn already exists, it’s only recognition of that right that’s wanting. We’re not creating anything new by our campaigning, only bringing society face to face with the truth as it already exists.
Yes, the recognition of rights has come as a result of campaigning by different groups, women, ethnic minorities, disabled people, but the rights themselves were not conferred by the state when it enacted them into law, they were already there in the first place, part of the way we were made by God. We can’t just make up rights as we go along, nor abandon them when convenient.
Children today grow up in a culture where more than ever before they are aware of their rights, and this is a wonderful thing. The Catholic Church has always supported human rights, and views them as inherent to the human person. It devalues the idea of rights if they are seen as something the state can simply give (or take away) because of the campaigning of particular groups.
I’m paraphrasing here, and what I’ve written above doesn’t do justice to the Archbishop’s words, but I just thought it was an important perspective to add. Particularly with regard to the pro-life movement (though Cardinal Conti didn’t mention them in his lecture, that wasn’t the focus of the day) it is encouraging to remember that the right to life of the unborn already exists, it’s only recognition of that right that’s wanting. We’re not creating anything new by our campaigning, only bringing society face to face with the truth as it already exists.
Yes, the recognition of rights has come as a result of campaigning by different groups, women, ethnic minorities, disabled people, but the rights themselves were not conferred by the state when it enacted them into law, they were already there in the first place, part of the way we were made by God. We can’t just make up rights as we go along, nor abandon them when convenient.