Pope Benedict XVI's comments give pause.(Inside Track)

On April 20, Pope Benedict XVI, the spiritual leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics, concluded a six-day visit to the United States, home to 67.5 million of his flock. In between the pope's April 15 arrival and his farewell ceremony, the pontiff took part in a whirlwind round of ceremonies.

On April 18, the pope addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations. Speaking partly in French and partly in English, Pope Benedict praised the world body despite its militant secularism. The pope began by inexplicably lauding the UN's coercive nature, and he went on to praise the UN's concept of human rights--both of which are in measure feared and scorned by many religious peoples:

* "The United Nations embodies the aspiration for a 'greater degree of international ordering' ... inspired and governed by the principle of subsidiarity, and therefore capable of responding to the demands of the human family through binding international rules and through structures capable of harmonizing the day-today unfolding of the lives of peoples."

* "Human dignity, which is the foundation and goal of the responsibility to protect, leads us to the theme we are specifically focusing upon this year, which marks the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

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Contrary to the pope's favorable comments, the UN doesn't espouse sacrosanct rights or protect such rights and human dignity. To it, "rights" are human activities that the UN al--lows people to undertake. The ...