The (un)certainty of politics, the (un)certainty of law: Brief remarks on inquiries in both areas involving John Paul II

In a political reality dominated by conflicts and disputes, attention is sometimes drawn to the limits that must be respected by human legislators engaged in political decision-making. In the past, the order of the cosmos, the will of the gods, or the will of God were invoked as sources of norms that legislators were also expected to take into account. Over time, the view emerged that these limits were determined by human rights or, as John XXIII and later John Paul II proclaimed, by the rights of the human person. For John Paul II, these rights appear to constitute political and legal certainties; nevertheless, they have not been accepted by many politicians serving in legislative bodies.