Hello psych50~
First, let's look at the United Nation's stance on women's rights.
According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the
United Nations Human Rights Programme is based upon the "realization
by the international community that 'recognition of the inherent
dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the
human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the
world'" (For complete text, see http://www.unhchr.ch/html/abo-intr.htm
)
The Programme the UN implements primarily promotes human rights by
offering "technical assistance" and training. (For more information
on this "technical assistance," visit:
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/techcoop.htm )
According to their website, The Programme's recognized issues are
quite vast. You can see them at:
http://193.194.138.190/html/menu2/hrissues.htm
Only one of these issues relates directly to women. Specifically, the
Programme attempts to target violence against women, trafficking of
women, reproductive rights, and "traditional practices" (i.e., female
genital mutilation, very early marriages, etc.) To read more about
this, visit: http://193.194.138.190/women
The Catholic Church is right along side The Programme in almost every
instance, except certain reproductive rights issues. The main
difference is that while The Programme promotes the right to all types
of birth control for women, The Catholic Church does not.
Specifically, the Church only accepts "natural" birth control methods,
such as the rhythm or secretion methods. (In essence, abstinence
during the fertile part of a woman's cycle.)
Although the Catholic Church is not traditionally thought of as
"pro-woman," for centuries, it has made women "military leaders,
judges, chatelaines and controllers of property - many of whom are now
revered as saints." The Church also has a long record of educating
women and girls, offering excellent health care, and standing against
the sex trade industry. (
http://www.its.caltech.edu/~nmcenter/women-cp/church_empowers_women.html
)
However, according to critics, like Catholics for a Free Choice, the
fact that the Catholic Church is against most forms of birth control
and all forms of abortion makes it "anti-woman." The CFFC claims that
the Church "has dealt harshly with women who disagree with it on
issues of sexuality, going so far as to silence Brazilian nun and
theologian Ivone Gebara...[and] in countries like Kenya where women
are increasingly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, the church hierarchy has
consistently attempted to block or undermine safe sex programs." The
organization also claims that "the Vatican said that women who had
been raped in Kosovo should not take emergency contraception."
("Emergency contraception" here refers to aborting any fetuses that
may be present after a rape.) For the complete story, see
http://www.seechange.org/media/shadowreport031000.htm
That said, the Catholic Church is certainly far from being opposed to
the UN's human rights activities. In fact, both sides seem to agree
that except in the issue discussed above, the two groups are after the
same goal. You may find this article about The Programme, featured in
the Catholic "St. Anthony's Messenger," interesting:
http://www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Dec1998/Editorial.asp
In addition, you might want to check out "The Catholic Church and the
UN:" http://www.cptryon.org/compassion/70/cath-ch.html
Keywords Used:
"United Nations Human Rights"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22United+Nations+Human+Rights%22&btnG=Google+Search
"Catholic Church human rights"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22Catholic+Church+human+rights%22+human+rights
"Catholic Church" "women's rights"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22Catholic+Church%22+%22women%27s+rights%22&btnG=Google+Search
"Catholic Church" UN "human rights"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22Catholic+Church%22+UN+%22human+rights%22
Kriswrite |
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