Originally published at National Catholic Register
President Jimmy Carter, whose funeral is taking place today at the National Cathedral in Washington, pursued a foreign policy more attentive to human rights than his immediate predecessors. Motivated in part by his deep Christian faith, Carter was thus part of a broader development that included a transformation of Catholic “foreign policy,” too.
When the Cold War against expansionist Soviet communism began, a certain “realpolitik” thinking took hold in Western capitals. To contain communism, an emphasis on balance of forces and alliances became primary. An anti-communist authoritarian, even a cruel tyrant, might be favored by U.S. foreign policy over a democratic country sympathetic to Moscow.
In his inaugural address, Carter indicated a shift toward putting a priority on human rights. A tyrant might be anti-communist, but he was still a tyrant, and U.S. foreign policy should take that into greater account.
“Ours was the first society openly to define itself in terms of both spirituality and human liberty,” Carter began in January 1977.
“To be true to ourselves, we must be true to others,” the new president continued. “We will not behave in foreign places so as to violate our rules and standards here at home. … Because we are
