The first pope from the United States, writing to the participants of the Vatican meeting on the use of power in democratic societies, said that democracies remain healthy only when they are rooted in moral values.
“Without that foundation, (democracy) faces the risk of becoming either a tyranny of the majority or a front for the dominance of economic and technological elites,” Lav said in the letter.
The text, released in the middle of the Pope’s 10-day tour of four African countries, did not mention the US or any other democratic country.
Trump lashed out at the pope late Sunday, calling him “terrible” as the head of the Catholic Church has emerged in recent weeks as a critic of the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Lav told Reuters on Monday that he intended to continue criticizing the war despite Trump’s comments.
In a letter on Tuesday, the Pope said that the Catholic Church teaches that power should not be considered as an end in itself, “but as a means directed towards the common good”.
“This implies that the legitimacy of authority does not depend on the accumulation of economic or technological power, but on the wisdom and virtue with which it is used,” said Lav.
The Pope also called on the leaders of democratic societies to resist any temptation to increase their power.
“Moderation proves to be key to the legitimate use of authority because true moderation curbs excessive self-aggrandizement and acts as a safeguard against abuse of power,” he said.
(Vijesti.ba)
