The Vatican and the Diplomacy of Human Rights in World Affairs

Three recent addresses highlight the Vatican's concerns in world affairs, rooted in human rights and a Catholic view of history.  The addresses particularly highlight the 60th anniversary of the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI's Address to the Diplomatic Corps (scroll down for the English translation) summarized the Holy Father's concerns for the state of the world for diplomats from other countries to the Vatican.

Today, the Vatican published an Address to the Sixth Session of the U.N. Human Rights Council by Msgr. Silvano Tomasi, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See.

Sandro Magister today highlights the Holy Father's homily for the Solemnity of the Epiphany, in an article titled The Church's Diplomacy Has a Fixed Star: That of the Magi.  The homily, which preached Benedict XVI's theology of history, is provided by Magister in English translation with commentary stating that, without this homily, the Pope's address to the Diplomatic Corps "remains halting and incomprehensible."