Not making use of the Church

Don’t be surprised that something like this can happen. Consider, my children, that over time temporal power tends to corrupt those who possess and exercise it. Hence it is no wonder that a Catholic with little doctrinal formation and little interior life may be tempted to use any available means to keep the position he has attained in public life. He ends up doing things, that would have been unthinkable, in order to stay in power, compromising and deforming his own conscience.

We certainly realize that such a thing can happen. But we cannot tolerate that it happens. If it does, the whole Church ends up being a prisoner. The hierarchy becomes a prisoner, bound to the official party’s bandwagon, and the faithful are prisoners who are not permitted to exercise their legitimate freedom.

The conclusion we should draw from all this, my children, is that we have the duty to love everyone’s freedom and to serve the Church, while avoiding anything that might imply making use of her for party goals. We can make use of the Church only in order to find the sources of grace and salvation. This implies giving up one’s personal interests and willingly sacrificing oneself so that Christ may reign on earth; this is to have a pure intention. Those of my children who have the noble inclination to enter politics should do so with this mentality: to serve their country, to defend human freedoms, and to spread the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

For this reason they will avoid being official Catholics. They will struggle loyally with the same weapons as everyone else and present themselves as what they are, ordinary citizens just like everyone else. They are responsible Catholics who maintain unity with other Catholics in what is essential but do not want to create dogmas in accidental matters, in temporal and debatable questions.