Fig. 1 Ethic and Democracy
A Lesson by Pope Leo XIV in a World “ravaged by a handful of tyrants”
During the Renaissance, Niccolò Machiavelli taught the powerful that "the end justifies the means." Today, the global community, in view of the enormous challenges it faces, has no choice but to reject this ethic and replace it with one that opens the doors to a future of new humanistic progress: "the end is rooted in the means."
Recently, Pope Leo XIV, in his criticism of the President of the United States, offered several insights into this New Humanism. One such insight is found in the Pope's message in April to the participants in the plenary session of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, held from April 14 to 16, 2026, in Rome.
It demonstrates how "authentic democracy" (the end) is rooted in the moral law (the means), particularly in the moral virtues of "justice," "fortitude," and "temperance."
