On 28 July at 18:00 our special guest at the Opera Campana dei Caduti Foundation will be the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, Monsignor Paolo Rudelli, who will speak on the topic: "The promotion of human rights in the international actions of the Holy See".
Opus iustitiae pax (peace is the work of justice) was Pope Pius XII's motto. But if peace does not exist without justice, justice cannot be enacted without the application of law. For this reason, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations in Paris on 10 December 1948, is a fixed point for peace -builders; a juridical, political and cultural revolution which is still awaiting completion. So that the rights to freedom and equality can be truly granted to all the world's citizens, ongoing work is required to adapt the social and international order.
This is a similarly lengthy and laborious task, which gives concrete results only when there is input from skilled professionals. On the international scene, one of the most active bodies in this field is undoubtedly the Holy See. And this is why the Opera Campana dei Caduti Foundation has instigated a series of encounters with Holy See diplomats. On 28 July Monsignor Paolo Rudelli will ascend Miravalle Hill. Rudelli was appointed by Pope Francis in 2014 to the role of Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the Council of Europe. His contribution is part of a series of initiatives at the Bell of the Fallen, organised in Rovereto and Strasbourg to explore the diplomatic mechanisms which allow concrete progress on the values represented by Maria Dolens. Monsignor Rudelli will deliver a lecture on the promotion of human rights in the international actions of the Holy See, precisely to underline the importance of concrete, daily action in a field which all too often is relegated to declarations of intent and proclamations.
A similar approach also motivated Cardinal Lorenzo Baldiseri, president of the Synod of Bishops, when he was invited by the Foundation on 24 February to address a packed audience on the subject of the Holy See's international actions to promote peace. On this occasion the Cardinal recalled - among other things - that Pope Francis attached particular importance to such issues, with a call to combat "the remote cause of conflict; that is, indifference".
This is one of the tasks of the Opera Campana dei Caduti Foundation, which works to build relationships and connections between apparently irreconcilable parties, often using art as a vehicle to convey the fundamental values represented by Maria Dolens, a universal symbol of peace. Values fully encompassed by the Declaration of Human Rights, which in recent decades has guided a political, cultural and diplomatic process which is ongoing and which demands further development and embedding. Legal conventions have followed on matters of racism, torture, gender discrimination, children's rights, migrant workers and their families. But the essential characteristic of all the initiatives is the acceptance of universal moral principles, which must be carried into legal requirements in all fields, from politics to economics, and including culture.
Understanding where this journey has reached - in particular through the activities of the Holy See, is the challenge associated with the upcoming appointment with Monsignor Rudelli; another step in a direction in line with the overall work of the Bell of the Fallen. The lecture will be followed by a concert as part of the Fridays at the Bell series, with which the Foundation reinforces the direction of its activities, which for some years have represented the values of Maria Dolens through culture and diplomacy. Different faces of the same coin.
