Log in Free trial  The Catholic Church, Human Rights, and
Democracy: Convergence and Conflict with the Modern State
Article excerpt  IN POPE BENEDICT XVI'S ADDRESS to the Roman
Curia of December 22, 2006, he made reference to the Catholic
Church's own journey toward embracing human rights and religious
freedom. (1) Perhaps surprisingly to some, he gave credit for
this development to the Enlightenment, which he said could count
human rights and religious freedom as its "true conquests." More
predictably to most, he reiterated his longstanding criticism of
the Enlightenment's attempt to ground these principles on
positivist and skeptical foundations. He argued rather that a
constructive synergy of faith and reason was the best foundation
for tolerance, human rights, and the preservation of religious
freedom.  Benedict's thesis points to an ambivalent historical
relationship between the social teachings of the Catholic Church
and modern political institutions based on human rights and
democracy. It is in part a