2 acta Human Rights means valuing each other's points of views and accepting people with dignity. Everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God. James 1:19-20 ‘What will be one’s life without rights? How can right be protected and upheld?Praising Gratefully Psalm 146:2-10 | will praise the Lord as long as | live; Iwill sing praises to my God all my life long. Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help. When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish. Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. ‘The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord! > (Gyrersering Joyfully ‘Two young boys from Bulacan tied toa pole after they were caught stealing from a coffee vending machine (ABS-CBN News, January 8,2015) Bocaue, Bulacan — Two children aged 9 and 10 years old were tied to a post after being caught stealing from a store's coffee vending machine.A passerby saw two boys tied toa post in Bulacan. When asked, the store owner explained that was a form of reprimand for what the children have been doing. According to the. witness, the children have been stealing numerous times already, and this was the only time they were punished. The children were brought to the barangay office where a man who claimed to be the grandfather of one of the children fetched them. According to barangay captain Raul Sanchez, he already warned the store owner who tied them to the post because he might be facing charges for the form of punishment he gave. The barangay officials have been trying to contact the children’s parents as well, but it was in vain, nobody came forward as. their parents. But according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the person who tied them toa pole should also be held responsible. According to the Executive Director of Juvenile and Welfare Council, there are specific processes that deal with children and adults who steal, and it was not justifiable for the store owner to tie them up and violated Republic Act’9344. Answer the followirliquestions. 1. What is the social context of the news report? 2. In what way is the action of the owner (who tied the boys into a post) justifiable or unjustifiable? 3. What human right is violated in the story? 4. Doyou think Filipinos are aware of their human rights? Explain your answer. 5. _ Whatare the common violations of human rights in our society today?©) istening Reflectively Area from the letter of James, chapter 1, verses 17 to 27 Do not be deceived, my beloved: all good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. Know this, my dear friends: everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God. Therefore, put away all filth and evil excess and humbly welcome tffe word that has been Planted in you and is able to save your souls. Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror. He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets what he looked like. But the one who peers into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres, and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, such a one shall be blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, his religion is vain. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world. » The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God! yr Knowing Lovingly Meaning of Human Rights Human rights is traditionally defined as titles or claims to certain material and spiritual goods, or to have access to such goods in order for the human person to live a dignified life. In most cases, human right is referred to the natural human rights. This means that we have rights solely because we are humans. Human rights directly proceed from our dignity and out very nature as embodied—spirits, free, rational, social, and historical. Human rights are not given to us by society. Instead, they are what society has to respect, promote, and protect. Thus, the Magisterium has not failed to note the positive value of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations on December 10, 1948, which Pope John Paul I defined as“a true milestone on the path of humanity's moral progress.” Allhuman beings share the same basic dignity. All of us are created by God in His image and likeness, redeemed by Jesus and continually called to a life of communion with Him. (Human rights directly proceed from our dignity and our very nature as embodied—spirits, free, rational, social, and historical. Human rights are the concrete manifestation and consequences of human dignity. Since everyone shares the same dignity, obviously the right that we need to protect, respect, and promote belongs to all. We, therefore, have a moral obligation to recognize and respect the same universal rights and contribute to the establishment of harmony so that everyone will ive freely and live life to the fullest. Demand for Human Rights Itfollows then that all of us must protect, respect, and promote our basic dignity at all times. We can do these by protecting, respecting, and promoting human rights. In fact, the roots of human rights are to be found in the dignity that belongs to each human being. This dignity, inherent in human life and equal in every person, is perceived and understood first ofall by reason. “The natural foundation of rights appears all the more solid when, in light of the supernatural itis considered that human dignity, after having been given by God and having been profoundly wounded by sin, was taken on and redeemed by Jesus Christ in his. incarnation, death, and resurrection. Human rights are to be defended not only individually, but also as a whole. Protecting them partially would imply a kind of failure to recognize them. They correspond to the demands of human dignity and fulfill the essential needs of the person in the material and spiritual spheres. “These rights apply to every stage of life and to every political, social, economic, and cultural situation. Together theyforma single whole, directed unambiguously towards the promotion of every aspect of the good of both the person and society... The integral promotion of every category of human rights is the true guarantee of full respect for each individual right’? The Source of Human Rights The ultimate source of human rights is not found in the mere will of human beings, in the reality of the State, in public powers, but in man himself and in God his Creator. These rights are universal, inviolable, and inalienable. Universal, because they are present in all human beings, without exception of time, place, or subject. Inviolable, insofar as they are inherentin the human person andin human dignity, and because it would be vain to proclaim rights if at the same time everything were not done to ensure the duty of respecting them byall people, everywhere, and for all people. inalienable, insofar as no one can legitimately deprive another person, whoever they may be, of these rights, since this would do violence to their nature.?Here, the Church's view of human rights is distinctive because of how it defines human dignity. The Church traces human dignity to God. It follows that the Church holds human right as:a. Inviolable, since the source is God; . Universal, since God created all human beings; and _Inalienable, since we cannot lose our rights anymore than we can stop being human and being loved by God. The basis of all human rights and duties is the truth of all human persons’ inherent dignity that is rooted in the Christian. truths of creation, incarnation, redemption, and’ final destiny. Because we are human persons created with dignity, we are endowed wit inviolable, universal, and inalienable rights with each having corresponding obligations. BS { itegrating Hi ically é He According to PCP Il, “The concrete socio-economic realities of the Philippines are only too obvious: the widening chasm between the rich and the poor, the Feality of unemployment, the problems of malnutrition, of hunger, of violation of human rights." But the growing response has been equally clear. “Average Filipino Catholics have atered a real process of conscientization regarding their social responsibilities as disciples of Jesus Christ, united in the Catholic community. This conscientization has brought to sh-"Eened awareness our basic human rights: economic (right to work, to a just wage, to property), social (right to assembly, to free association), political (right to vote, to equality the law, to emigrate/immigrate), cultural (right to education, to freedom of speech), and religious (right to worship)."° Now, on various occasions, we freely talk about our human - rights. Unfortunately, we seem to know our human rights only when we feel they are restricted, just like most students who speak of their rights only when they feel restrained, bullied, abused, and discriminated. Even some try to absolutize their rights not thinking of the moral obligation each right carries. Seldom do we express our human rights when they are actually recognized. (Human rights flow directly from human dignity. itis our obligation to observe, promote, and defend human rights from any form of abuse. Social obligations are implied in our human rights. Since we are all equal in terms of basic human dignity, there are things that we all commonly deserve. Our duty then is to see toit that these things are given toall. As Pope John XXill stated, "Ifa man becomes conscious of his rights he must become equally aware of his duties. Thus, he who possesses certain rights has likewise the duty to claim those rights as marks of his dignity while all others have the obligation to acknowledge and respect those rights” As we know and claim our ‘own rights, we must not also forget the rights of others that we also need to respect and to protect. So we need to understand that since we all have the same basic human rights, we must have the moral obligation to respect other's rights. Otherwise, our individual relationships, as well as the whole social order, will be in chaos. Hence, human rights flow directly from human dignity. It is our obligation to observe, promote, and defend human rights from any form of abuse. For human rights in relation to social justice prompt us to look after the welfare of our fellow human person and the good of the entire community.© Ifa man becomes conscious of his rights he must become equally aware of his duties. Understanding Fully Questions: 1. What is the difference between natural human rights and civil rights? ‘What is the basis of human rights in the Christian point of view? ‘Are’ human rights innate or acquired? How? How are human rights seen in a Filipino perspective? yaey 1 What are the commonly violated human rights in school, at home, and in society? seenting Truthfully Human rights are the manifestation of our dignity as a human person. If human rights is violated, human dignity is also violated. if we protect and promote human rights, we are also protecting and promoting human dignity. GROUP ACTIVITY 1. Identify your rights as student, Write at least five of them below. 2. Whatare your corresponding obligations for each right that you identified? 3. Create a poster-slogan on how to promote and protect your rights as students. The poster-slogan can be exhibited or displayed in the different parts of the school compound.