![The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Question of Sovereignty](https://politicaltheology.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Convention-on-the-Rights-of-Persons-with-Disabilities1-600x360.jpg)
The controversy surrounding the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, defeated in the U.S. Senate on December 4, demonstrates the tension in Catholic teaching between the need for effective international institutions that promote human rights and the need for international institutions that respect a proper balance between their own authority and the authority of states.