To all, in the whole world, who exercise power and authority,
to the kings and presidents of the peoples,
to chancellors and ministers,
to parliamentarians and experts,
to directors and governing boards
and to everyone who reads this letter,
Brother Francis, your little worthless servant wishes peace and all good things.
There is something that you must also integrate in your political perspective: the certainty that death will come .
to all of us.
I therefore beg of you, with all the reverence I am capable of: do not forget God in your political actions. Let his commandments guide you, when you shape this world.
For all who forget God and turn away from his commandments (Ps. 118:21) shall be forgotten by him too (Ez. 33:13).
And at the moment of death, everything falls away into nothingness, and we must let go all our securities.
And the more knowledge and power you store up and use against others, the greater will be the torments
you will have to endure in hell.
For this reason my Lords, I say this to you: the important principle of your political dealings
becomes tangible in the symbol of bread and wine -the Holy Body and Blood of Jesus.
In the crib God takes the side of the poor and weak in an attitude that renounces power and domination.
This you should acknowledge publicly through signs that one can see and hear,
through laws and norms, through structures and institutions, through officials and executive boards.
Your intentions should be: to promote God's love and commitment to Him by Your people.
Praise and thanksgiving to Him not only through one or two, but through all, because it is only by fixing our eyes on Him that we can live a truly human life.
If you refuse to do this, you will be held responsible for it on the day of God's judgement.
Those who keep a copy of this letter and act upon it, may know that they receive God's blessings.
(Anton Rotzetter)
CCFMC, Lesson Unit 20, Liberation Theology from the Franciscan Point of View, P.26f
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