Divine Right

President Bush inaugurated his second term pledging America to a crusade to establish democracy throughout the world, and the news from Iraq seems to reward his belief in elections. But today, with his father and former President Clinton, he is in Rome kneeling before Pope John Paul II, whose successor will certainly not be elected by popular vote. It's a moment to look at the idea that popular elections are the only source of legitimate authority.

Many people are taken aback by the Roman Catholic Church's unabashed rejection of "rule by the people." As Pope John Paul II said in 2002, "The Church is not a democracy, and no one from below can decide on the truth." The new pope will be chosen, the Church says, not in an election by the one billion Catholics in the world, or even by the 115 cardinals eligible to vote, but by the Holy Spirit as understood by those electors.

Though even some Roman Catholic priests lack faith in this idea, it has long been noticed that legitimacy can show itself in mysterious ways.

Mencius, whose ancient dialogues are central to traditional Chinese education, traced the "will of heaven" in the succession of Chinese rulers. Mencius was asked, "Was it the case that [the ancient ruler] Yâo gave the throne to [his successor] Shun?"

'Mencius said, "No.. Heaven gave it to him.. It showed its will by his [Shun's] personal conduct and his conduct of affairs.. Yâo presented Shun to Heaven, and Heaven accepted him. He presented him to the people, and the people accepted him."

"Shun assisted Yâo in the government for twenty and eight years.. After the death of Yâo, when the three years' mourning was completed, Shun withdrew from the son of Yâo to the south of South river. The princes of the kingdom.. went not to the son of Yâo, but they went to Shun. Litigants went not to the son of Yâo, but they went to Shun. Singers sang not the son of Yâo, but they sang Shun. Therefore I said, "Heaven gave him the throne." It was after these things that he went to the Middle Kingdom, and occupied the seat of the Son of Heaven. If he had, before these things, taken up his residence in the palace of Yâo, and had applied pressure to the son of Yâo, it would have been an act of usurpation, and not the gift of Heaven.

"Heaven sees ... as my people see; Heaven hears ... as my people hear.'" (Mencius, cc. 400 BC)

From childhood we have all seen the fluid nature of charisma. Who do we trust? Who do we follow? Who called out the games we played as children? How did the popular kids in high school acquire the mantle of popularity? Why did the unglamorous character Andy Sipowicz become the compelling focus of the TV drama NYPD Blue? Why has Ayatollah Sistani become so important to stabilizing Iraq? In the midst of war, why do soldiers sometimes ignore a lieutenant to trust and follow a sergeant or a fellow infantryman even to death in battle? Whether we call it the will of heaven, the movement of the spirit, charisma, presence, or just "it," we've all witnessed it.

Legitimate authority can be seen as coming from election by the people, or from transmission through a hereditary or spiritual or reincarnational lineage (descendance from the Sixth Patriarch, Saint Peter, Abdul Aziz al Saud, George Washington or the Dalai Lama), or from brilliance or competence or grace. We can't just look at the chart on the wall to see who has legitimacy. We have to be open to continuing revelation, as the Quakers say.

Whatever legitimacy is conferred by popular elections in Iraq, much will depend on recognizing the charisma of emerging leaders, especially among the clan and religious leaders who have held authority in the Middle East for centuries; and whatever legitimacy is bestowed on the new pope through the discernment of the Holy Spirit, he will need to seek the resonance of that spirit in the people.