Pope Leo, warning about democracies that risk slipping into “majority tyranny”. Allusion to Trump's criticism
Pope Leo warned on Tuesday of the risk of democracies slipping into “majority tyranny” in a letter issued by the Vatican two days after US President Donald Trump attacked the pontiff on social media, Reuters reports.
Pope Leon PHOTO: Shutterstock
Addressing the participants of a Vatican meeting on the use of power in democratic societies, the first American pope said that democracies remain healthy only when they are anchored in moral values.
“Without this foundation, (democracy) risks becoming either a majority tyranny or a mask for the domination of the economic and technological elites”Pope Leo XIV said in the letter, News writes.
The text, published as the pope embarks on an ambitious 10-day tour of four African countries, did not directly address the United States or name any specific democracy.
Trump harshly criticized Leon, calling him righteous “terrible”, Sunday evening, after the pope emerged in recent weeks as an increasingly vocal critic of the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Pope Leo told Reuters on Monday that he plans to continue criticizing the war despite Trump's comments.
In Tuesday's letter, the pope said the Catholic Church teaches that power cannot be seen as an end in itself, “but as a means oriented 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 exercised“said the sovereign pontiff.
The Pope also urged leaders in democratic societies to avoid any temptation to amass power. “Moderation…proves essential to the legitimate exercise of authority, because true moderation limits excessive self-aggrandizement and acts as a protective barrier against the abuse of power”he said.
