A Force to Reckon With

Don Bosco was one of the important figures not only in the Church, but also in the government of Italy. Meanwhile, after allowing the exiled prelates to return to their dioceses, the Italian government and the Holy See had negotiations about those who would fill the empty Sees of the diocese. The government wanted to be the one to appoint bishops, but the Pope did not approve. Don Bosco gave his thought about this, and said that the government should give up on this intent because it was not honorable for them to meddle in matters of the Spiritual welfare of the faithful. The government officials agreed, thus kept the peace between “God and country.” BM 45

Keep in mind that Don Bosco was a man of his times. He was a strong force even in the government. However, this did not take him away from his mission for the spiritual welfare of his sons. This proves that as Salesians, involvement in politics should only be if it is already a question of saving souls.

Article 123: Participation and Shared Responsibility “Our common vocation requires the responsible and effective participation of all the members in the life and action of the local, provincial, and world communities, not only in terms of implementation but also of planning, organizing ad evaluating, according to their respective roles and competence...”