John Leree Coralde 2ChEA 24/09/2019

HUMAN DIGNITY AS INVIOLABLE AND INALIENABLE

1. Is there a difference between human life and human right? Explain your answer.
Human life and Human rights are one and the same in that they are rooted in the primary
principle, our Human dignity. It but the heart and soul of the social teaching of the catholic church.
It is the foundational perspective on the human person: all humans are made in the image and
likeness of God. Human rights are inherent in their nature, and far from being concessions by
society or by the state, instead society and the state have the duty to defend and promote them.
Devaluing human righs devalues human lives.
2. Are all human rights absolute?
Not all human rights are absolute, only a select few cannot be limited for any reason in
which no circumstance justifies a qualification or limitation of these rights. Absolute rights cannot
be suspended or restricted, even during a declared state of emergency. Most notable of these rights
are the: Right to recognition before the law, Freedom from Slavery and Servitude, Freedom from
torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and etc. An example of a
right on the other spectrum is Article 6 of the ICCPR, which protects the right to life. This right,
however, is expressed in part as freedom from 'arbitrary' deprivation of life. The use of the term
'arbitrary' indicates that circumstances may justify the taking of life, where necessary, reasonable
and proportionate.
(Reference: https://www.ag.gov.au/RightsAndProtections/HumanRights/Human-rights scrutiny/
PublicSectorGuidanceSheets/Pages/Absoluterights.aspx)
3. Do all human rights stem from the Catholic Social Teaching?
Not all human rights were directly derived from the Catholic Social Teaching but all were
influenced by the importance of our Human Dignity. Human rights stem both from and from our
inherent dignity as human beings, because all human beings were given life by God and are made
in his image and likeness. Although our inalienable and inviolable dignity as human beings was
profoundly wounded by sin, it was redeemed and restored by Christ’s incarnation, death and
resurrection. The Church recognizes that her essentially religious mission includes the defense and
protection of human rights including within her own ranks.
(Reference: http://justiceandpeace.org.au/catholic-social-teaching-and-human-rights/)