From the perspective of canon lawyer Adrian Loretan, the Church in its current constitution is not capable of consistently implementing human and fundamental rights.
Human Rights Day is celebrated on December 10th, commemorating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly…
As long as spiritual authorities, such as priests and bishops, have an “unlimited reservation” in relation to the laity, “there can be no question of fundamental rights in the strict sense in the Church”, the Lucerne canon lawyer told the kath.ch portal on Sunday. “It is precisely this unrestricted authority that leads to the abuse of power. Without guaranteed human rights, victims of sexual violence cannot defend themselves against authorities.”
The Swiss canon lawyer commented on Human Rights Day on Sunday. Exactly 75 years ago, on December 10, 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Paris.
According to Loretan, the Church has historically made a significant contribution to the creation of the Charter of Human Rights. “The modern constitutional state matured in Christian Europe, which was institutionally shaped by the Roman Catholic Church.” Important principles such as the dignity of the person, the equality of believers, the prohibition of discrimination and religious freedom were already in the decisions of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). It is important that these “are translated into the binding constitutional law of the Church”, said the canon lawyer. The same applies to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the Holy See ratified in 1990, but which has not yet been translated into current Church legislation.
(kap-skr)