The Dialectical Relationship Between Human Rights and the Christian Faith: A Response to Prof. Laura Palazzani

I am glad to have the opportunity to read and to respond to Prof. Palazzani’s fine paper on “The Christian-Catholic religious perspective: Human rights, cultural pluralism and bioethics.” It provides a succinct account of how the Christian-Catholic religion provides the foundation for human rights, and how it views the contents of human rights. By and large I agree with Palazzani’s viewpoints. I also find her approach to this matter commendable: “The task of the Christian in today’s complex pluralist society is to make himself heard, to dialogue with the non-believers and different believers, to rationally find the common truth together again, but also to not give up the specificity of his faith, to not stop at a generic Christian inspiration of ethical action, to not forget the divine precepts. The Christian must avoid the temptation of privatising faith and moving publicly at the level of reason alone, but must also socially witness values and the Christian announcement.”