Legal and Roman Catholic Conceptions of Human Rights: Convergence, Divergence and Dialogue?

Abstract

This article explores the extent to which there is an overlapping consensus between the Roman Catholic and the legal traditions of human rights. In comparing both traditions, an understanding of what these two traditions mean by ‘human rights’ is gleaned from some authoritative texts of these traditions. In the case of the Roman Catholic tradition, emphasis is given to the post-Vatican II encyclicals (without intending to be comprehensive), and in the case of the legal tradition, domestic Bills of Rights, human rights treaties and relevant judicial interpretations of those texts are considered.