David Hollenbach and the Human Rights Debate

The issue of human rights represents what is probably the primary ethical concern in the world today. No human problem transcends national boundaries to the degree that violations of human rights do, not only with regard to their causes, but also in search for human solutions. There are many important philosophers and theologians, from a various philosophical and religious traditions, engaged in an on-going discussion and debate about the meaning, purpose, and limits of human rights language. This study is aimed at assessing the work of one important contributor to this discussion, the prominent Roman Catholic moral theologian, David Hollenbach, S.J. He proposes in his writings a community that is built on the ethics of responsibility, the creation of a society where the structures of sin that dehumanize the person are transformed into those that would enhance the dignity of each person. His passion for the ordering of society toward the common good could inspire renewed efforts in addressing the issues of global warming, environmental degradation, poverty, inequality, marginalization and promote human welfare.