been ratified by almost every State in the world. The Second Vatican Coun-

cil, in the Declaration Dignitatis Humanae, as well as my predecessors Paul

VI and John Paul II, forcefully referred to the right to life and the right to

freedom of conscience and religion as being at the centre of those rights that

spring from human nature itself.

Strictly speaking, these human rights are not truths of faith, even though

they are discoverable - and indeed come to full light - in the message of

Christ who "reveals man to man himself".5 They receive further confirmation

from faith. Yet it stands to reason that, living and acting in the physical

world as spiritual beings, men and women ascertain the pervading presence of

a logos which enables them to distinguish not only between true and false, but

also good and evil, better and worse, and justice and injustice. This ability to

discern - this radical agency- renders every person capable of grasping the

"natural law", which is nothing other than a participation in the eternal law:

"unde... lex naturalis nihil aliud est quam participatio legis aeternae in rationali

creatura".6 The natural law is a universal guide recognizable to everyone, on

the basis of which all people can reciprocally understand and love each other.

Human rights, therefore, are ultimately rooted in a participation of God, who

has created each human person with intelligence and freedom. If this solid

ethical and political basis is ignored, human rights remain fragile since they

are deprived of their sound foundation.

The Church's action in promoting human rights is therefore supported by

rational reflection, in such a way that these rights can be presented to all people

of good will, independently of any religious affiliation they may have. Never-

theless, as I have observed in my Encyclicals, on the one hand, human reason

must undergo constant purification by faith, insofar as it is always in danger of

a certain ethical blindness caused by disordered passions and sin; and, on the

other hand, insofar as human rights need to be re-appropriated by every gene-

ration and by each individual, and insofar as human freedom-which proceeds

by a succession of free choices - is always fragile, the human person needs the

unconditional hope and love that can only be found in God and that lead to

participation in the justice and generosity of God towards others.7

This perspective draws attention to some of the most critical social pro-

blems of recent decades, such as the growing awareness - which has in part

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Acta Benedicti Pp. XVI 499

5 Gaudium et Spes, 22. 6 ST. Thomas Aquinas, ST I-II, 91, 2. 7 Cfr. Deus Caritas Est, 18, and Spe Salvi, 24.