The Pope's PhD dissertation draws on the concept of religious authority in St. Augustine, not power

The University President said Friday that by the Associated Press (AP) – The University President said Friday that Rev. Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo Xiv, wrote his PhD dissertation in the manner of the local Augustine superior exercise authority. Now, this is a new question, namely, Prevost is the leader of 1.4 billion powerful Catholic churches.

For a long time, the authority of religious superiors in sports has been a topic of study for scholars. In recent years, it has been re-examined due to the abuse of such authority: when a boss takes advantage of his or her authority, and owes him or her obedience for sexual or other purposes.

The problem is that Prevost will be elected as the Pope from 2023 to last week as the superior of the Augustine religious order in 2001-2012, from the Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru in 2014-2023, and from the Vatican headquarters. The Vatican office reviewed not only the nominations of bishops around the world, but also bishop cases accused of abuse of authority.

Thomas Joseph White, president of the Dominican-run University of St. Thomas Aquinas, conducted research from 1981 to 1985. Prevost will be called Angelicum in colleges aged 26 to 30.

White said that given the modernization reform of the Second Vatican Parliament and the Catholic Church in 1983 when it was in college, Prest was particularly interested in the issue of religious authority. He said in an email that Prevost stressed that all exercises of authority are selfless services in the common good.

White highlights a sentence of thesis drawing in St. Augustine’s concept of authority and service: “There is no concept of self-seeker in Augustine’s concept of authority and seeking power over others,” Prefoster wrote.

“Exercising authority in any Christian community requires putting aside all self-interest and fully dedicated to the interests of the community,” he wrote. “This is the starting point for a true understanding of the role of local superiors.”

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