The Right to Travel and Dwell in Francisco de Vitoria and Domingo de Soto: A Historical Retrieval of the Right to Migrate in Catholic Social Teaching

This dissertation investigates how the 16th-century concept of the right to travel and dwell, as articulated by Francisco de Vitoria and Domingo de Soto, can reinforce and expand modern Catholic social teaching on the right to migrate, while connecting it to an ancient tradition on migration ethics. The research is relevant to two central issues in migration ethics: the normative strength of migrants’ rights over national laws, and the grounds for legitimate regulation of migration, particularly through the concept of harm. The study begins with a historical contextualization of Vitoria and Soto’s writings, showing that their references to “travel” raises issues that have a bearing on international modern migration. Chapter 3 provides a close analysis of their legal and theological arguments on the right to travel. Vitoria, in De Indis, defended native sovereignty while affirming a universal right to migrate based on the law of nations. Soto, in Deliberation on the Cause of the Poor, affirmed the right of economic migrants to relocate and live anywhere, especially in pursuit of better living conditions. They ground this right in the theology of hospitality, common ownership of goods, and the analogy of the body applied to humankind. Both authors acknowledged limits to this right to travel such as the perpetration of crimes and the possibility of harm. Chapter 4 shows how Vitoria and Soto use a concept of law of nations closely connected to natural law, which bolsters the necessity, immutability, and prominence of the right to travel over national laws. In the final chapter, I traced the development of the right to migrate in modern Catholic social teaching and argued that retrieving the 16th-century right to travel can reinforce the binding character of migration rights and offer a clearer framework for the regulation of migration based on harm.<p></p>