Pope, at U.N., says no government or religion can limit human rights

Published: 2008-04-18

UNITED NATIONS (CNS) -- Neither government nor religion has a right to change or limit human rights, because those rights flow from the dignity of each person created in God's image, Pope Benedict XVI said. In his April 18 speech to the U.N. General Assembly, the pope insisted that human rights cannot be limited or rewritten on the basis of national interests or majority rule. But he also said the role of religions is not to dictate government policy, but to help their members strive to find the truth, including the truth about the dignity of all people even if their religious views are different. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the pope and met privately with him before the pope addressed the General Assembly. In his public welcoming remarks, the U.N. leader said, "The United Nations is a secular institution, composed of 192 states. We have six official languages but no official religion. We do not have a chapel -- though we do have a meditation room. But if you ask those of us who work for the United Nations what motivates us, many of us reply in a language of faith," he said. "We see what we do not only as a job, but as a mission." He added, "Your Holiness, in so many ways, our mission unites us with yours."

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