Pray with the Pope: Elected politicians are our employees

by Chris Chatteris SJ · Published August 5, 2024 · Updated August 3, 2024

Pope Francis, in a screen grab from a video, says Pope Paul VI believed politics was one of the highest forms of charity. (CNS photo/ThePopeVideo.org)

Pope’s prayer intention for August: Let us pray that political leaders be at the service of their own people, working for integral human development and the common good, taking care of those who have lost their jobs and giving priority to the poor.

A couple of months ago, many of us took part in the sixth South African election since 1994. The pope’s intention for August is perfect for those politicians who will assume the burdensome responsibilities of governing and guiding our young and still maturing democracy in South Africa’s national and provincial assemblies.

There was a feeling on election day that the younger generation was impatient with the governing party — and who can blame them? One in every three members of the working-age population is unemployed, and the figure is even higher for the youth.

The infrastructure of our towns and cities is deteriorating rapidly. The public health system is under severe strain. The educational system at primary and secondary levels is underperforming compared to very many other countries. Someone is murdered every 20 seconds in South Africa, and a woman is raped every 12,5 seconds.

The records and characters of the leaders of our main political parties are underwhelming to say the least. The man who presided over systemic corruption in our public life has returned to the political scene, in the process breaking the governing party’s absolute majority in the national assembly. That the African National Congress (ANC) deserved such a blow is acknowledged by many, but that it should benefit Jacob Zuma’s party has put many a commentator on edge.

What I’d pray for

In this context, I might have written the Holy Father’s intention more sharply, praying that ordinary people in democracies really do hold their leaders to account. That people become less deferential and more demanding towards politicians who travel in cavalcades of black vehicles with blue lights and sirens.

That we see our political leaders whom we elect as they really are — our employees who serve at our pleasure and can be dismissed if they miss the mark and fall short of our expectations and their promises. That we remember that politicians are paid by us (and are well-paid at that).

I would pray for more participative democracy, the ongoing involvement of the people after elections. I would pray that we watch the political leaders closely so as to persuade and indeed pressure them to make sound decisions for the sake of the common good.

As for any politicians involved in corruption, let them receive exemplary punishments, “to encourage the others”, as Voltaire put it. Corruption is a sin crying to heaven, especially in a developing country, since it is nothing less than the robbery of the poor.

We, the people, must acquire the confidence to elect to public office true leaders and to vote out criminals who cannot be allowed near the common purse. In that, the Church has a grave responsibility to continue to educate and enlighten the electorate on these issues by means of Catholic Social Teaching.