Creation Care and the International Protection of the Right to Health

Abstract

The underlying principles of creation care is gaining paramount importance, since humanity endangers its own future by damaging the living world of the planet. In this context, the role of the Catholic Church is particularly important, since the Church has been protecting life and the environment for centuries, as evidenced by numerous papal encyclicals from Populorum Progressio to Laudatio Si’ to Fratelli Tutti.

The protection of the right to health occupies a prominent place within the topic of creation care, which puts the emphasis on the protection of human life and dignity as a transcendent essence of the human being, that cannot be touched or taken away by the state. In this context, too, the Church raised its voice in numerous papal encyclicals for the protection of human life, dignity, and the right to health, starting with the encyclical Pacem in Terris.

The church's social teaching and statements made in the field of creation care and the right to health serve as an important point of alignment for the legislator in both national and international contexts. The purpose of this paper is to point out the main connections between the church's social teaching and the major international documents that support this statement.