Pope Leo issues warning on democracy after Trump criticism
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Pope Leo XIV leading a mass in Annaba, Algeria, on April 14, as part of a 10-day tour of four African countries.
PHOTO: AFP
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- Pope Leo cautioned that democracies lacking moral values risk becoming "majoritarian tyranny" or tools for elites.
- Trump criticised Pope Leo as "terrible" after Leo criticised the US-Israeli war on Iran; Leo intends to continue.
- Pope Leo stated authority's legitimacy relies on wisdom and virtue, not economic or technological strength, urging leaders to avoid hoarding power.
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ANNABA, Algeria - Pope Leo warned of the risk of democracies sliding into “majoritarian tyranny” on April 14, in a letter issued by the Vatican two days after US President Donald Trump attacked the pontiff on social media.
The first US pope, writing to participants of a Vatican meeting about the use of power in democratic societies, said democracies remained healthy only when they were rooted in moral values.
“Lacking this foundation, (democracy) risks becoming either a majoritarian tyranny or a mask for the dominance of economic and technological elites,” said Leo in the letter.
The text, released as the pope was undertaking an ambitious, 10-day tour of four African countries, did not directly address the US or name any specific democracies.
Mr Trump sharply criticised Leo as “terrible” on the night of April 12, after the pope had emerged in recent weeks as a growing critic of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Leo told Reuters on April 13 that he planned to keep criticising the war, despite Mr Trump’s comments.
In the April 14 letter, the pope said the Catholic Church taught that power could not be seen as an end in itself “but as a means ordered toward the common good”.
“This implies that the legitimacy of authority depends not on the accumulation of economic or technological strength, but on the wisdom and virtue with which it is exercised,” said Leo.
The pope also urged leaders in democratic societies to avoid any temptation to hoard power.
“Temperance... proves essential for the legitimate use of authority, for true temperance restrains inordinate self-exaltation and acts as a guardrail against the abuse of power,” he said. REUTERS
