The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted in 1948 by the United Nations, while always open to improvement and renewal, remains highly relevant, consistent, and enduring, reflecting the deepest dreams and aspirations of humanity. UDHR embodies this ideal and utopia (the path or dreamed-of project) of the human family in promoting the sacred and inviolable life and dignity of every person, and the transcendent values ​​and sentiments such as freedom, justice, and peace. These UDHR, in the course of history, have been and continue to be trampled upon time and again. Yet, the commitment to recognizing the life and dignity of all people, with their fundamental rights and duties, illuminates the path of human history in this quest for justice, fraternity, and ultimately, happiness.

Throughout the history of culture and thought, it has been understood that the life and dignity of individuals, with their inherent dimensions, needs, and capacities, is intrinsic to and constitutive of what it means to be human. This is what has been called, or is known as, natural law and right, which, beyond various interpretations or meanings, truly expresses this conviction of the very essence and identity of the person. In other words, it expresses what a human being truly is: a dignified, free, and just life; a physical life with reason, conscience, and feelings; a personal and cultural life; an ethical and social life; an economic and political life. This conveys to us a basic and comprehensive anthropology, a shared and universal understanding of the person, with their diverse and interrelated dimensions or essential aspects. Without all of the above, one cannot truly understand what it means to be human, as philosophy and the social sciences emphasize today.

Especially from the Christian-Catholic perspective, those geniuses of philosophy and theology, of thought and science in general, such as Saint Augustine of Hippo and Saint Thomas Aquinas, Francisco de Vitoria and Domingo de Soto, Francisco Suárez, the School of Salamanca, and others, were the true forerunners and promoters of what would later be known as human rights; they are the root of true Christian humanism and personalism. Let us not forget, in this sense, that the understanding of the person in the history of thought and culture is fundamentally rooted in this faith. Other worldviews, such as Greco-Roman philosophy, neither knew nor were able to adequately develop the meaning and sense of personhood as we understand it today. Hence, these geniuses and thinkers, together with faith, grounded in the wisdom of the humble and simple people, with this anthropological and ethical understanding born from the Gospel of Jesus, were especially able to promote the dignity and rights of victims, of the poor (the impoverished, oppressed, and excluded).

Indeed, this is what happened in antiquity, where nascent Christianity and later the first forms of religious life, such as monasticism, promoted the poor educationally and socially, advocating for social justice, freedom, and peace. This stood in stark contrast to the tyrannical system of slavery, paradigmatically embodied in the Roman Empire. This is the primary reason, as has been studied and researched, why early Christianity expanded so rapidly and intensely. The phrase “see how they love,” the witness of love and justice toward the poor, even unto martyrdom, was the seed of the rise of the Christian faith, which captivated people as they witnessed such spirituality, humanity, compassionate empathy (mercy), solidarity, peace, and commitment to justice. This is exemplified in the lives and messages, particularly in the social teachings, of those known as the Church Fathers, such as Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Ambrose, and Saint Augustine himself, during the glorious Patristic period and movement at the beginning of the faith.

We now find ourselves in the transition from the Middle Ages, in the shift from the feudal system to the flourishing of urban life; with the aspirations for liberty, equality, and fraternity of the so-called “commons,” the humble and simple people of the countryside and these nascent cities, reflected in the spiritual movements of the time. Here we see the emergence of religious life and the mendicant movement (Trinitarians, Dominicans, Franciscans, etc.) with figures like Saint John of Matha, Saint Dominic, and Saint Francis of Assisi. All of this generated movements of fraternal, solidarity-based, just, and liberating life that transformed society and would eventually overthrow the despotic feudal system of vassalage, with the humiliating privileges of the aristocracy or nobility. We are now in the transition from the old regime to the new, in the modern age, with the various revolutions that would occur and that would ultimately proclaim what are known as first-generation human rights . Those rights associated with civil, public or political liberties, for example, the right to association, assembly or voting, even if they were not yet universal, for all people.

In this modern era, it is necessary to highlight the contribution of the aforementioned School of Salamanca, with figures like Vitoria, Soto, and Suárez, together with the nascent and exemplary Church in the Americas, including Franciscans, Dominicans, and Jesuits, such as Pedro de Córdoba, Montesinos, Saint Francis Solano, and Saint Peter Claver; and with a fruitful group of bishops such as Saint Toribio de Mogrovejo, “Tata” Vasco Quiroga, Antonio de Valdivieso, and Bartolomé de las Casas himself. All of them, with their successes (enlightenments) and shortcomings or limitations, we emphasize, are the cornerstone of what are known today as Human Rights. In this way, they promoted and defended the life, dignity, and rights of the native populations in the newly discovered American continent, against the oppression, injustice, and exploitation to which these natives would be subjected.

Vitoria, Soto, Suárez, and others like Cardinal Cisneros, alongside Isabella I of Castile, promoted the economic and social rights (with equitable distribution of goods and resources), the religious and cultural rights (freedom of customs and beliefs), and the political rights (governance and governance) of the peoples of the Americas and Africa. In opposition to all forms of imperialism, and following this Christian-Catholic tradition with Saint Thomas Aquinas as a key figure, these spiritual, humanist, and intellectual and scientific movements and geniuses fostered a social, solidarity-based, and holistic anthropology and ethics. They were the architects and defenders of what are known as the rights of nations or peoples, liberating social, political, and international relations based on social justice for the poor of the earth and on the most universal common good, peace, and global fraternity.

And so, as the modern age progressed, we find that these humanist and spiritual ideals of fraternity, equality, and liberty were being betrayed by the rise of the social stratum known as the bourgeoisie, first commercial and then industrial, with the generation of the perverse bourgeois ideology of economic liberalism, the inhumane and immoral system of capitalism. Indeed, as we know all too well, in this era, the bourgeoisie, with its capitalist system, exercised oppression and exploitation over the workers. The workers were subjected to dehumanizing and undignified labor, social, and political conditions. We are now at the birth of what is known as the labor movement , in whose genesis the inspiration of faith was decisive, without which this movement cannot be properly understood. A faith and spirituality rooted in its renewed religious orders or congregations, with saints and witnesses of the stature of Saint John of God, Saint Camillus de Lellis, Saint Joseph Calasanz, La Salle, Saint Vincent de Paul, Saint Alphonsus Liguori, and Don Bosco. And later, with witnesses such as Bishop Kettler and Frédéric Ozanam, with Cardijn and his Young Christian Workers (YCW), Mounier and personalism, St. Weil and Luigi Milani, Emiliano Merino, Rovirosa, Malagón, and his Catholic Action Workers’ Brotherhood (HOAC) in Spain.

All these saints and witnesses of the faith, on the path leading from the modern to the contemporary age, alongside the labor movement, social movements, and cultural thought, contributed to a renewed anthropology; with a love of culture rooted in liberating fraternity and social commitment, with an ethic of solidarity and universal justice for the poor. In this sense, they promoted what are known as second-generation human rights . These are social rights such as education and healthcare, decent work with labor rights, social security, adequate housing, etc. In other words, what is now called the welfare state or, better yet, the social state governed by the rule of law.

As the 20th century progressed, alongside totalitarian regimes like fascism and Nazism, or collectivist communism (collectivism), the so-called social question became globalized, and the injustice of capitalism became even more widespread. Thus emerged the reality of the Third World, or rather, the abyss of inequality and injustice between the enriched North and the impoverished South. At the same time, the renewed churches of this South flourished, particularly in Latin America, with their base communities and the witness of bishops like Herman Câmara and Peter Arns, or saints like Alberto Hurtado, the episcopal conferences of Medellín and Puebla; constellations of holiness and martyrs such as Ramón Grande, Archbishop Romero, Luis Espinal, Josemaría Gerardi and Eduardo Angelelli, Ignacio Ellacuría, Ignacio Martín-Baró, and the other Jesuit martyrs of the UCA, etc. Some of them, such as Ellacuría and Martín-Baró, were also highly significant thinkers or scientists, as were others like P. Freire or J.C. Scannone, a mentor to Pope Francis. All this wealth of faith, synergistically intertwined with the renewal of faith and theology in the 20th century, as crucially expressed in the Second Vatican Council and in what is known as the Church’s social doctrine (CST), along with other social movements, resulted in a fruitful thought and culture, nourished by a solidarity-based praxis of liberating justice for the poor.

Indeed, all these saints and witnesses of faith, along with others who could be cited within the context of the conciliar spring of Vatican II, such as Saint John XXIII and Saint Paul VI, or Father Arrupe himself, promoted what are known as third-generation human rights . These are international rights of peoples or countries, such as the right to solidarity-based, sustainable, and integral development, or the right to peace. All of this is echoed in our time by new social or popular movements, such as those gathered in the World Social Forums or the Indignados movement, with their proposals for another possible world : a globalization of solidarity, justice, and ecology as opposed to that of capital, war, and environmental destruction. A real democracy, more participatory, self-governing, supportive, and social, with greater dignity and rights; opposed to the current crises caused by the idolatry of the market, profit, and speculation perpetrated by the banking and financial sectors, with the complicity and corruption of certain political powers. It is worth mentioning here the demands of what are known as fourth-generation human rights, linked to cultural or human identity. These include interculturalism, the rights of peasant and indigenous movements, and women’s rights, which certainly challenge faith.

After this exploration of the meaning and history of human rights, we see how fruitful they are for the world and for faith: this culture, history, and legacy of solidarity and justice that human rights represent, always relevant and in need of renewal. They are humanity’s memory of life and dignity, of justice and freedom, in opposition to all historical imperialisms, such as Roman and feudalism, neoliberalism/capitalism and collectivism, and the various forms of fascism. Human rights are our longing and happiness, God’s dream in Jesus.

As our current popes, Francis and Leo XIV, demonstrate through their teachings and Catholic Social Teaching, and through their promotion of popular movements and encounters, they seek to be active participants in this history of holiness and justice. These popular movements strive for human and social rights, such as the three “T’s”: land , with the universal destination of goods taking precedence over private property; shelter , with dignified housing and integral ecology, above individualistic interests; and decent work , with its corresponding rights, including a living wage, which takes precedence over capital, profit, and gain. As Leo XIV conveyed during his recent trip to France, these fundamental rights include the right to life in all its phases, from conception (as science shows us) to natural death; the rights of marriage and family; the rights of children; the rights of migrants and refugees; and the rights of the poor. These rights are inseparable from our duties , from our commitment and responsibility for the common good, for social and international justice, for peace, and for human dignity.

The Social Doctrine of the Church, we emphasize, already made everything very clear with that teaching which is the Magna Carta of Human Rights, Pacem in Terris of Saint John XXIII or Saint Paul VI with his magisterium on integral human development (PP). There this pope affirms, together with the Second Vatican Council (GS), that “if anyone has the goods of this world and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how can the love of God abide in him?” ( 1 John 3:17). It is well known how firmly the Fathers of the Church have specified the attitude that those who possess should have toward those in need: “What you give to the poor is not part of your possessions,” says St. Ambrose, “but belongs to them. For what has been given for the use of all, you appropriate for yourself. The earth has been given for everyone and not only for the rich . ” That is to say, private property does not constitute an unconditional and absolute right for anyone. There is no reason to reserve for oneself for exclusive use what exceeds one’s own needs when others lack what is necessary.

In short: “The right of ownership must never be exercised to the detriment of the common good, according to the traditional doctrine of the Fathers of the Church and the great theologians.” If a conflict arises “between acquired private rights and fundamental community needs,” it is incumbent upon public authorities “to seek a solution with the active participation of individuals and social groups . ” The common good, therefore, sometimes requires expropriation if, due to their extent, their deficient or nonexistent exploitation, the resulting misery of the population, or the considerable damage done to the interests of the country, certain possessions serve as an obstacle to collective prosperity. Stating this clearly , the Council also recalled, no less clearly, that disposable income is not something to be left to the whims of individuals; and that selfish speculation must be eliminated” (PP 23-24).