New papers from Michael Perry (and Pope John Paul II) on human rights

Check out "What is a 'Human Right'?" (here) and "The Ground of Human Rights" (here).  Fitting stuff, as we prepare for the beatification and celebration of the life, work, and witness of Pope John Paul II, for whom proclamation of the true ground of human rights and dignity was a driving mission.  In 1999, for example, in "Respect for Human Rights:  The Secret of True Peace" (here) he emphasized:

. . . Peace flourishes when these rights are fully respected, but when they are violated what comes is war, which causes other still graver violations. . . . 

[W]hen the promotion of the dignity of the person is the guiding principle, and when the search for the common good is the overriding commitment, then solid and lasting foundations for building peace are laid. But when human rights are ignored or scorned, and when the pursuit of individual interests unjustly prevails over the common good, then the seeds of instability, rebellion and violence are inevitably sown. . . .