A Follow-up to the Carroll op-ed piece

Thanks to Rick for bringing our attention to James Carroll’s sobering column “The Politics of Religion.” The subtlety and nuance of Carroll’s argument disregards some important history regarding the origin of human rights as a subject of interest to politics, the law, and religion. I fear that Carroll puts too much “faith” in the Enlightenment and not enough in God and the proper role of religion. I cannot dispute that some “believers” throughout history have undermined the rights and responsibilities God authored for the human person; however, I am surprised that Carroll, a former priest, could have forgotten important principles of politics, law, and religion on rights promoted by Pope Gregory X in the thirteenth century and Fathers de Vitoria and Suárez in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries (as a few examples). While I suggest their writings enlighten us about authentic human rights I cannot view them as products of the Enlightenment since the preceded it.    RJA sj