Acta Apostolicae Sedis - Commentarium Officiale336

expressed as early as the fifth century by Augustine of Hippo, one of the

masters of our intellectual heritage. He taught that the saying: Do not do to

others what you would not want done to you ''cannot in any way vary according

to the different understandings that have arisen in the world''.4 Human

rights, then, must be respected as an expression of justice, and not merely

because they are enforceable through the will of the legislators.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As history proceeds, new situations arise, and the attempt is made to link

them to new rights. Discernment, that is, the capacity to distinguish good

from evil, becomes even more essential in the context of demands that con-

cern the very lives and conduct of persons, communities and peoples. In

tackling the theme of rights, since important situations and profound reali-

ties are involved, discernment is both an indispensable and a fruitful virtue.

Discernment, then, shows that entrusting exclusively to individual

States, with their laws and institutions, the final responsibility to meet the

aspirations of persons, communities and entire peoples, can sometimes have

consequences that exclude the possibility of a social order respectful of the

dignity and rights of the person. On the other hand, a vision of life firmly

anchored in the religious dimension can help to achieve this, since recognition

of the transcendent value of every man and woman favours conversion of

heart, which then leads to a commitment to resist violence, terrorism and

war, and to promote justice and peace. This also provides the proper context

for the interreligious dialogue that the United Nations is called to support,

just as it supports dialogue in other areas of human activity. Dialogue should

be recognized as the means by which the various components of society can

articulate their point of view and build consensus around the truth concern-

ing particular values or goals. It pertains to the nature of religions, freely

practised, that they can autonomously conduct a dialogue of thought and

life. If at this level, too, the religious sphere is kept separate from political

action, then great benefits ensue for individuals and communities. On the

other hand, the United Nations can count on the results of dialogue between

religions, and can draw fruit from the willingness of believers to place their

experiences at the service of the common good. Their task is to propose a

4 De Doctrina Christiana, III, 14.