David Hollenbach, SJ: Human Rights in a Divided World

Human Rights in a Divided World by David Hollenbach, SJ details today’s threats to human rights and how Catholic ethics can address these challenges. Read on for a Q&A with the author on which human rights issues the book addresses, how he hopes the book will be used, and more.

Does our current historical and political moment, in the world at large and also within the Catholic Church, make this book particularly urgent?

The deep divisions in today’s world raise serious challenges to the protection of human rights. Cultural and religious diversity lead some to conclude that the universality claimed for human rights is an illusion. Serious differences in power and economic resources lead others to claim human rights have become irrelevant. But this book argues that human rights are crucially important to overcoming these divisions. Human rights have never been more important to the protection of human dignity than they are today in our sharply divided world. Rights continue to have central importance in the church’s ministry.

Your book addresses several different human rights (i.e. the right to religious freedom, the rights of refugees and the rights of women). Why did you select the rights you discuss?

The practical divisions of our world are evident. Increasing interaction across religious differences will lead to conflict and even war unless faith communities recognize the religious freedom of those from other traditions. The record number of forced migrants today means that the rights of refugees have never been more important. Deep economic inequalities and poverty require urgent attention to the social and economic rights affirmed in the Universal Declaration. The world-wide impact of the women’s movement demands reflection on how to protect the rights of women and also to respect cultures that hesitate to support full gender equality. This book seeks to address these challenges.

You argue that the Catholic tradition is “living” and can make important contributions to the advancement of human rights. How do you show this?

The Catholic community is the single largest religious community in the world today. This means that the Catholic community has direct experience with most of today’s major human rights issues. Catholic thought affirms norms based on explicitly religious sources like the Bible and also on human experience and the resources of reason. The rich diversity of the experience of the Catholic community and its ongoing development can help that church to respond to religious and cultural pluralism by creatively defending the dignity and rights of all people.

Who do you hope will read this book and how do you hope it will be used?

The book is written for Catholics concerned with the church’s engagement with social and political issues, both in the United States and globally. It also speaks to those from other religious and secular traditions who are concerned with the advancement of human rights. All students of human rights and social justice will be benefit from it. The book addresses both practitioners and academics working to promote human rights and seeking a deeper understanding of why their work is so important today.