Warsaw Conference Celebrates Contributions of John Paul II on Natural Law and Human Rights

By | May 20, 2022

WARSAW, POLAND May 20 (C-Fam) On what would have been his 102nd birthday, scholars from around the world descended on St. John Paul II’s native Poland to examine his legacy in international human rights.  Speakers focused on the ways that he promoted human life and the family at the international level during his 26-year pontificate.

Hosted by Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw and co-sponsored by Ave Maria School of Law, based in Florida, the two-day conference featured a wide-ranging group of professors, journalists, and members of civil society advocacy groups from Poland, the United States, and other countries throughout Europe and Latin America.

In their discussion of John Paul II’s contributions to human rights and natural law, several panelists mentioned the landmark International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo, Egypt.  As preparations for the 1994 conference began, it became clear that efforts were underway to create an international human right to abortion.  Led by Pope John Paul II, the Holy See diplomats brought together a coalition from across different regions and faiths, governments and civil society members, and successfully blocked the attempt.  Over a quarter of a century later, attempts to create an international right to abortion consistently fail.

Joan Lewis, emerita EWTN Rome Bureau Chief, talked about being at Cairo and witnessing the expertise of the Holy See’s diplomatic operations. She also shared personal stories of her time as a journalist in Rome and meetings with the pope himself.

Though beloved for his kindness and immense skill in communicating, the recently-canonized pope was unambiguous and direct when it came to defending the unborn and the institution of the family as the bedrock of society.  As the Cairo conference approached, John Paul II sent a letter to its secretary-general, Nafis Sadik, then Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

He said, “Abortion, which destroys existing human life, is a heinous evil. There is a tendency to promote an internationally recognized right to access to abortion on demand, without any restriction, with no regard to the rights of the unborn…”

He also expressed concern that in drafts of the outcome document “marriage is ignored, as if it were something of the past,” and “the vision of sexuality which inspires the document is individualistic.”

Panelists in Warsaw spoke about the current state of the debate on the defense of life at all stages, both at the international level and within countries, including the U.S.’s forthcoming Supreme Court decision potentially overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the decisions that made abortion the law of the land for half a decade.  Poland, too, has come under increased pressure to allow abortion as it welcomes a wave of refugees from Ukraine following the Russian invasion.

In addition to the scholars discussing John Paul II’s ideas for bringing the natural law tradition to a rapidly secularizing world, the conference also featured several representatives of the Catholic Church, including Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz of Warsaw, Dutch Cardinal Willem Eijk, and Latvian Archbishop Zbigņevs Stankēvičs.

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