David Lantigua
Catholic University of America
Bishop Bartolomé de las Casas, O.P. (1484-1566), the Church of the Poor, and the Origins of Human Rights
Friday, 5:00pm - Minor Hall - UVA
View this lecture here.
Since the United Nations adopted the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, recognition of the inherent "dignity and worth of the human person" has been accepted, especially in the West, as a necessary condition for "the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear." The deeply Catholic origins of a world renewed by universal respect remain obscured or forgotten, and their subsequent articulations too easily overlooked or misunderstood. One of the richest resources for beginning a recovery of this current and for deepening our understanding of early efforts to evangelize the New World is the life, writings and legacy of Chiapas Bishop Bartolomé de las Casas, O.P.(1484 –1566), a former slave-owning entrepreneur turned Dominican friar advocate and official "Protector of the Indians." All are invited and welcomed to attend this timely public lecture by Catholic University of America assistant professor of moral theology David Lantigua, co-editor and co-translator of The Essential Bartolomé de las Casas: A Brief History with Documents (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2015).