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A Program of Spiritual Formation for Candidates to the Priesthood

The Lay Monastic Community of Caryana
 
 
 

 

 


LAYMAN'S THOUGHTS




CHRISTIAN DEMOCRACY

The concept of true democracy was enunciated by saints, like the great reformer St. Robert Bellarmine, a Jesuit. But today it is done by sinners. And so, most often, the beautiful principles of democracy conflict with its practice.

In true democracy, we have the dream of the first Roman republic of creating a nation of kings. In our democracy, the poor becomes poorer and many kings become common men.

Genuine democracy is opposed to the rule of the mob, or people's power, says G.K. Chesterton. For true democracy is based fundamentally on the existence of the citizen, and the best definition of the mob is a body of a thousand men in which there is no citizen.

Our democracy, commonly called political democracy is defined as the desperate and hopeless attempt to get at the opinion of the best people, i.e., people who do not trust their own opinions. It always ends up in getting the opinions of the worst people, i.e., those who trust they have the best opinions.

Political democracy means getting people who have no eye to govern, to vote. Yet it is those who have no eye to govern who will best govern, according to Christian Ethics.

One never starts a revolution to establish a true democracy; it is because there is true democracy that one is able to start a revolution.

Our present democracy has only one defect, it is not democratic.

G. K. Chesterton

 

 

 

 

 

(updated 08-23-02)

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