During his New Year address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, Pope Francis warned against “subtle” attacks on the right to life and against “controversial beliefs surrounding human rights”. Seventy years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations, “it is regrettable to see how many fundamental rights continue to be violated today,” the Pontiff declared. The attacks are initially directed at rights “to life, liberty and personal security of every human being“, which can take “more subtle forms” than “war or violence“. He cited “innocent children, discarded even before they are born, unwanted at times simply because they are ill or malformed, or as a result of the selfishness of adults“, the elderly “who are often cast aside, especially when infirm or viewed as a burden“, women who suffer violence and abuse, and the “victims of human trafficking“. The Pope pointed out that following “the social upheaval of 1968, “the interpretation of some rights has progressively changed, with the inclusion of a number of ‘new rights’ that often conflict with one another”.
Zenit, Anne Kurian (08/01/2018)