St Paul’s teaching is very clear: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment… for he is God’s servant for your good… For because of this, you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honour to whom honour is owed (Rom 13:1-6). And before that, Jesus Christ himself had taught the same when he said to Pilate: You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above (John 19:11).

Dangers of human power

Power is necessary and good. Yet for man’s fallen nature, which is pronus ad peccatum, inclined to sin, it remains another occasion for attachment, for vainglory, for showing off, and for forgetting God, just like so many other good things which can become evil through human malice.

Therefore, ordinary Christians who must sanctify themselves in public affairs need to be vigilant and constantly rectify their intention. This applies to you as well, my daughters and sons, if you have freely chosen this professional activity, which is part of your divine calling.