The Rev. Byron Hagan, parochial vicar of Holy Cross Catholic Church in Minneapolis, took on the subject of kings and corruption in the church's Aug. 30 bulletin.

‘’In our democratic society we have a long-practiced habit of casting aspersions on kings, because of the principle 'power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely,' but also because we know that human history is filled with the evils brought upon people by corrupt and power-mad kings, Fr. Hagan said. "In a democratic society, the goal is to be free of the despotic rule of kings, with their absolute and corrupting power, and distribute power equitably among the people."

Attempts have been made to do away with the evils that have undoubtedly been brought on mankind by kings.

"Of course, kings are also people, and we know well that it isn’t just kings who can be evil and power-mad and corrupt," Hagan continued. "This is possible for all of us. We should even say that the rationale for democratic rule is not that 'the people' are always good, but rather that it is about the distribution of power in such a way that no one person ever has too much of it. And this is a good argument, indeed."