A 19th Century Bishop Lugo?

We forget that clerics playing an important role in temporal affairs of state is nothing new. Whether it is wise is another story (Cardinals Richelieu and Wolsey come to mind!). I, for one, do not think that priests and bishops should become active in the political sphere of the modern nation state. But if the person leaves the priesthood, well, that is another story. I see nothing wrong with that. And I applaud Bishop (ex-bishop?) Lugo’s victory on a platform of social justice in Paraguay.

But again, this is nothing new. As early as nineteenth century, priests were taking advantage of new strides in democracy to support Catholic social teaching through elected office. In fact, there is one such priest who comes to mind. This man resigned from the priesthood in 1888 to pursue a career in politics, and was an elected representative of the Bavarian and federal chambers. He wrote on political economy topics, arguing against the materialism of Adam Smith.

This man, who died in 1899, is largely forgotten in history. Except for one thing: his name was Georg Ratzinger. He is the pope’s great uncle.