In theory, the Catholic commitment to human rights should be just that: catholic (universal). We should mourn the Sunni child set on fire at his school by Bashar al-Assad’s forces just as much as the Christian child in Syria executed by Daesh (ISIS). The hundreds of attacks on schools by the Taliban should sicken us as much as the recent terrorist attack on French journalists. And we should support efforts to end the atrocities of the Central African Republic, whether the victims are Christians, Muslims, or neither.

For Catholics who fully embrace Church teaching and the message of Jesus Christ, human rights are universal and inviolable. Fellow Christians are not our only brothers and sisters. We are one human family. A sectarian agenda that values the lives of Christians over others is contrary to our faith. And it has been disgraceful to see so many, particularly (but not exclusively) in…