8 "beatitudes for politicians"
Cardinal Francois-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, who is president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, proposed the moral guidelines on May 3, 2002 at a conference in the northern Italian city of Padua.
Echoing the eight beatitudes preached by Christ in his Sermon on the Mount, Cardinal Thuan said politicians needed a similar set of rules that leave room for the faith in their profession.
- Blessed the politician who well understands his role in the world.
- Blessed the politician who personally exemplifies credibility.
- Blessed the politician who works for the common good and not for his own interests.
- Blessed the politician who is true to himself, his faith and his electoral promises.
- Blessed the politician who works for unity and makes Jesus the fulcrum of its defence.
- Blessed the politician who works for radical change, refusing to call good that which is evil and using the Gospel as a guide.
- Blessed the politician who listens to the people before, during and after the elections, and who listens to God in prayers.
- Blessed the politician who has no fear of the truth or the mass media, because at the time of judgment he will answer only to God, not the media.