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Vatican diplomat calls for respect for rights to life, religious freedom; condemns focus on ‘new rights’
February 27, 2026
» Continue to this story on Holy See Mission
CWN Editor's Note: Addressing the UN Human Rights Council on its twentieth anniversary, a Vatican diplomat said that “the human rights project is currently facing a credibility crisis,” in part because of “the ongoing proliferation of so-called ‘new rights.’”
“The right to freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, religious freedom and even the right to life are being restricted in the name of other so-called new rights, with the result that the very framework of human rights is losing its vitality and creating space for force and oppression,” Msgr. Daniel Pacho, one of the three undersecretaries of the Holy See’s Secretariat of State, said in Geneva, Switzerland, on February 25.
The prelate called for respect for the right to life, “founded upon the defense of the inalienable dignity of every individual, from the moment of conception to natural death”; protection of the institution of the family; and respect for religious freedom.
“One of the most prevalent crises in today’s world is the ongoing persecution of Christians, affecting over 380 million believers,” he said.
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