human rights in the defense and promotion of the human person - life, dignity, and peace -

"Man is the way for the Church"1 We open this presentation by paraphrasing the beautiful words of His Holiness, Pope John IInd by asserting in our turn that "man is the way for the army as well". Through which we imply that the authenticity of an institution is given by its being in the service of man. The mission of the Church is that of guiding man to encounter our Lord Christ and to be, thus, saved. In fulfilling this, the Church also relies on a variety of human realities, among which the army holds a significant place. The institution of the army has as its main purpose the defense of the human being, of nations, of peoples, and of the intangible human values: life and dignity on the personal level, and peace on the social level. In our presentation we will focus on life, dignity and peace. In order to render the teachings of the Church on these matters, we will first draw an outline of the soldier, pondering on the light and darkness of our contemporary civilisation.