The Catholic Church in Human Rights Protection .......... 283

There are many parallels between the development of the Catholic Church’s social doctrine in the area of human rights by Pope John XXIII and his successors, and the evolu-tion of human rights on the world scene since the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Church doctrine coincides with national laws and international covenants on nu-merous points, especially the ultimate foundation of all rights in human dignity. Another major point in common is religious freedom. Sadly, deplorable violence against religion occurs in many countries, and it is suffered disproportionately by Christians. The Church urges that religious freedom be treasured and defended by all, whatever their own convic-tions, because it epitomizes the freedom to live by one’s deepest understanding of truth. As Pope Benedict XVI explained, this is consistent with the healthy secularity of the legitimate modern state in which religious and temporal matters are separate but mutually respectful. Such freedom is opposed by the aggressive secularism that attacks any beliefs that it does not share, and by some religious fundamentalists with similar tendencies of intolerance. The Church strongly defends the universal character of fundamental human rights and rejects the relativism that some national regimes and interest groups increasingly apply to these and other rights. We must all promote religious education that helps to construct a healthy social order.