What it means that human rights around the globe are abused

It was 75 years ago this month -- Dec. 10, 1948  -- that the United Nations General Assembly announced the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

And it was less than two weeks ago that UPI offered this story, which began this way: "Most countries around the world struggle with protecting their citizens of some of the most basic human rights, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Rhode Island's Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies. . ."

Happy holidays.

It hardly needs to be said that documents like the UDHR or the Declaration of Independence are aspirational and not accurate pictures of current reality.

And as bleak as the news is these days, such aspirational documents are important and necessary. They keep us flawed humans aware that we can and should do better. And they give us standards against which to measure our actions and thoughts. We can argue about the standards, but at least they're a place to start.

I liked what U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on the occasion of the UDHR anniversary: “As we look at the first 75 years of the UDHR, we recognize what we’ve accomplished in this time, but also know that much work remains. Too often, authorities fail to protect or — worse — trample on human rights and fundamental freedoms, often in the name of security or to maintain their grip on power."

The irony is that these good words were said by a top official of a country that, in the Rhode Island study, as UPI reports, "earned a D grade of 64, while neighboring Canada received a grade of 88. The center said, though, that 60 percent of the countries around the world received a grade of F for their human rights protections and only 20% of the countries received a B grade or higher, or a grade of 80 or higher."

In her almost-daily "Letters from an American," historian Heather Cox Richardson noted that the "UDHR is a vital part of the rules-based order that restrains leaders from human rights abuses, giving victims a language and a set of principles to condemn mistreatment, language and principles that were unimaginable before 1948."

Perhaps leaders of the U.S. and other countries with low grades in the Rhode Island study might want to know that, as UPI reports, "The study found that Finland was the leading country for human rights, with a grade of 98, or A, followed by Australia (92), Estonia (92) and Austria (90)."

How about we figure out what such nations are doing right and see what we can learn? And I won't complain if you call such a suggestion aspirational. We need our aspirations.

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IS THE VATICAN MAKING LGBTQ+ PROGRESS?

I may come back to this topic later because of its potential importance, but (speaking of human rights) for now just know that, as NCR reports here, the "Vatican's doctrinal office has officially declared it possible for Catholic priests to bless same-sex unions and divorced and remarried couples." The declaration, the National Catholic Reporter piece says, has limitations that make it "extremely narrow in scope."

And yet the declaration "may serve as the most concrete pastoral shift on the church's stance toward gay couples in the church's centuries' long history." It doesn't surprise me that the church finally is waking up on this issue given how much time and effort other Christian communities have spent studying what to make of some biblical passages that historically have been used as hammers to beat LGBTQ+ people. You can find my essay about all of that here. (Feel free to share it with friends.)

As welcome as this new Vatican declaration might be, let's also remember that the Catholic Church continues to teach that homosexuality is "objectively disordered" and, in that same document, that "homosexual practices" are "sins." Until those conclusions, based on misreadings of scripture, change the likelihood of foundational alterations in church teaching can't happen.

Oh, and Jesuit Fr. James Martin, who has long advocated for LGBTQ+ ministry in the Catholic Church, says in this America Magazine article that the pope's action, despite its limitations, "is a major step forward for L.G.B.T.Q. Catholics."

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P.S.: Perhaps you saw the story the other day that an important cardinal at the Vatican was "convicted of several counts of embezzlement," as CNN reported here. I've made this comment before related to other scandals having to do with religion but I think it's worth repeating. Not only do such things injure whatever religious institution was involved -- in this case the Catholic Church -- but they injure the very idea of religion. In a time when -- at least in Western Europe and North America -- participation in religion is noticeably on the downswing, you'd think religious leaders would pay more attention to avoiding scandal. Must have something to do with the human condition, which sometimes seems like it needs an overhaul.

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