When addressing politicians during the Jubilee Year of 2000, St. John Paul II urged Christians to take an active role in upholding truth, beauty and goodness in society.
He did not think that Christians should remove themselves from politics, but that they should elevate politics to a different level.
In an age when politicians are eager to pounce on their political opponents, St. John Paul II desired a much different approach.
Christian politics
St. John Paul II said that, “Christians who engage in politics – and who wish to do so as Christians – must act selflessly, not seeking their own advantage, or that of their group or party, but the good of one and all, and consequently, in the first place, that of the less fortunate members of society.”
He further explained how “the least” of society need to be safeguarded:
Justice must indeed be the fundamental concern of political leaders: a justice which is not content to apportion to each his own, but one which aims at creating conditions of equal opportunity among citizens, and therefore favoring those who, for reasons of social status or education or health, risk being left behind or relegated to the lowest places in society, without possibility of deliverance.
St. John Paul II also reiterated what should be the primary focus of politics:
Politics is the use of legitimate authority in order to attain the common good of society: a common good which, as the Second Vatican Council declares, embraces “the sum of those conditions of social life by which individuals, families and groups can achieve complete and efficacious fulfillment” (Gaudium et Spes, 74). Political activity ought therefore to be carried out in a spirit of service. My predecessor Pope Paul VI rightly affirmed that “politics is a demanding way of living the Christian commitment to serve others” (Octogesima Adveniens, 46).
Serving the greater good of society is a hallmark of any Christian engagement in politics.
We should not be worried about winning an election, but only about doing what is good for society and forging a path forward that is conscious of the dignity of every human person.
And today we celebrate...