As the world reels from wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and as political fights over migration boil in the U.S., Pope Leo XIV is stepping into his new role with a clear message: the Catholic Church remains firmly committed to upholding human rights.
For the new pontiff, human dignity isn’t just a theological concept—it’s a practical guide for navigating modern chaos.
Inspired by his namesake, Pope Leo XIII, Leo XIV is bringing renewed focus to the Church’s longstanding tradition of promoting justice and peace.
He’s urging global leaders, communities, and Catholics alike to embrace a vision of humanity rooted in mutual respect and the pursuit of peace.
Human Rights in the Church: Not a Modern Invention
Contrary to what some may think, the Catholic Church’s advocacy for human rights didn’t suddenly appear in the 20th century.
According to V. Bradley Lewis, dean of philosophy at The Catholic University of America, the Church has emphasized human dignity for centuries—long before the term “human rights” entered modern vocabulary.
The roots run deep, tracing back to foundational theological beliefs and thinkers like St. Thomas Aquinas.
Even though the language has evolved, the core idea has remained consistent: every person is created in the image of God and therefore deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
Rights Grounded in Natural Law, Not Political Trends
Lewis points out that the Church doesn’t see rights as political bargaining chips or individual preferences.
Instead, Catholic teaching views rights as grounded in natural law—the idea that certain moral principles are built into human nature.
Under this lens, rights like the right to life or religious freedom aren’t negotiable.
They’re rooted in moral truth, not popularity.
On the flip side, claims to rights that oppose natural law—such as abortion or assisted suicide—don’t align with Catholic understanding.
The Church’s Moral Framework: Rights Within Community
One of the key distinctions in Catholic thinking is how rights are understood in relation to community.
Rather than being seen as tools to assert individual control, rights are viewed as part of a broader structure of mutual responsibility.
They exist to help people live well together—not apart from one another.
As Lewis puts it, rights are meant to create harmony, not conflict.
Some are fundamental and universal—like the right to life—while others are legal rights that can vary by society.
And then, of course, there are some that the Church views as fabricated altogether, created and retracted according to political trends.
Pope Leo XIII Set the Stage for a Social Justice Legacy
Leo XIV isn’t starting from scratch. His papal namesake, Pope Leo XIII, was one of the pioneers of Catholic social teaching.
His 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum laid out the Church’s position on workers’ rights, private property, and the relationship between labor and capital.
That document helped shape how the Church would speak about justice and human dignity for generations to come—especially as industrialization began reshaping global economies.
Human Rights and the Modern World Order
After the horrors of World War II, the world came together in 1948 to draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Catholic thinker Jacques Maritain played a behind-the-scenes role in shaping that vision, and the Church soon expanded its own language around rights.
Pope John XXIII’s 1963 encyclical Pacem in Terris went even further, listing out rights to education, food, shelter, medical care, and more. But with rights came responsibilities.
“Claiming your rights while ignoring your duties,” the pope warned, “is like building a house with one hand and tearing it down with the other.”
Vatican II and the Right to Religious Freedom
The Second Vatican Council’s 1965 declaration Dignitatis Humanae reaffirmed one of the Church’s most important teachings: religious freedom.
This wasn’t simply a political position, but a moral one.
The right to worship and live according to one’s conscience, the Church declared, stems directly from human dignity as revealed by both reason and divine truth.
Legal Tradition Helped Shape the Church’s Language on Rights
Even before modern human rights language took form, discussions of individual rights were happening within the Church’s own legal system.
Medieval canon law, which evolved into one of the world’s most advanced legal traditions at the time, wrestled with ideas about what people owed to each other—and what freedoms they deserved.
According to Lewis, it was within this structured legal thinking that much of our current understanding of rights was born.
Law gave the Church the framework to talk about justice in concrete, enforceable ways.
Why Human Rights Matter More Than Ever Today
In a world where governments have access to extraordinary power—through technology, surveillance, and military might—human rights serve as necessary guardrails.
Lewis emphasizes that the modern state has enormous potential to help or harm, and without rights as protection, people are dangerously exposed.
“We don’t live in medieval villages anymore,” Lewis said.
“We live in powerful modern states. Government power has to be limited.”
Looking Ahead: Human Dignity at the Center of Catholic Action
As Pope Leo XIV begins his papacy amid global unrest, his message is one of returning to the essentials—human dignity, peace, and shared responsibility.
He’s reminding the world that human rights, in the Catholic view, are not about personal preference or partisan politics.
They’re about honoring what it means to be human.
And in today’s fractured world, that vision might just be more needed than ever.