Pope Video: Defending fundamental rights

April 13, 2021 in News

In this month’s Pope Video, Pope Francis draws our attention to the risks that many people around the world run when they work to defend the fundamental rights of everyone in their societies. This is true not only under dictatorial regimes, he says, but also in some “democracies in crisis”. The main rights that he is referring to are poverty, inequality, the lack of work, land and housing, and the denial of social and labor rights. It often happens, he notes, that these rights are not equitably extended to everyone. You can have first-, second- and third-class people, as well as others who are simply seen as disposable. For the Pope, all people must be seen and treated as equal.

He concludes his video message: “Let us pray for those who risk their lives while fighting for fundamental rights under dictatorships, authoritarian regimes and even in democracies in crisis, that they may see their sacrifice and their work bear abundant fruit.”