Posted by David Kopel:
The Pope and the President on Freedom:
That's the title of George Weigel's excellent [1]essay detailing the
similarites between Pope John Paul II's statement on Human Rights in
1995, and President Bush's second inaugeral. The Pope and the
President both declared that:
1. There is a universal human nature. However different human
beings are, there is, at bottom, a common humanity composed of
common characteristics, longings, aspirations, and temptations.
2. There is a universal moral law inscribed in this common human
nature, a moral law we can know by reflecting on those common human
experiences.
3. This universal moral law teaches us the dignity of the human
person, from which we can deduce certain political truths: basic
human rights are inalienable; government exists to protect and
advance those rights; rights imply responsibilities.
4. That moral law and those political truths set a horizon of
achievement in history. The defense of freedom is a moral
obligation, not simply an exercise in self-interest.
Thus, Wiegel suggests that although the Bush administration and the
Vatican differed on the prudence of the Iraq War, and may well have
future disagreements on particular issues, there is basis for
cooperation on many issues, "because the world�s leading political
power and the world�s leading moral authority are both committed to
the defense and advance of freedom in the world, over against those
so-called 'realists' who insist that 'stability' is the goal in world
politics."
References
1. http://www.eppc.org/publications/pubID.2277/pub_detail.asp
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