Limits of Obedience to Authority

 In the Catholic Times, 'We see as much as we know" the priest columnist considers the issue: when can we resist public power? A serious issue in the past and present.
 
There was a time when the enemies of Jesus, preparing to trap him, asked if they should pay taxes to Rome. It's like asking a Korean if one should have paid taxes to Japan during the Japanese colonial period. No matter how you answer it, you are an enemy to one side. Jesus said, "Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s" (Matthew 22:21). After all, he is saying that we should pay taxes to the countries that have taken our country away. Not good news for independence activists.
 
In Philemon, the Apostle Paul sends Onesimus a runaway slave who stole from his master back to him. This is Paul's theology.
 
Obedience to Authority: Let everyone obey the authorities that are over him, for there is no authority except God and all authority that exist is established by God" (Rom. 13:1).
 
The Apostle Peter also speaks of slavery: "You household slaves,obey your masters with all deference, not only the good and the reasonable ones but even those who are harsh (1 Peter 2:18).
 
The Catholic Church thus explicitly presents a "duty of obedience" (1900) even to secular authorities. However, Adolf Eichmann, who was the murderer of the Jews at Hitler's command, also obeyed authority. Then he must be innocent. We face a difficult dilemma here. It is necessary to set a standard for how far one must obey.
 
The Catechism thus teaches that public authority is only effective "within the limits of the moral order" (1923) and "when striving for the common good of society" (1921). That means you don't have to obey the captain of a pirate ship. It is God who gave the authority, but God who gave the law of love. Human beings have been empowered by God, but when that authority gives orders that undermine 'Respect for Man' (1907), 'Social Well-being' (1908), and 'Peace for Humanity' (1909), one may listen to those opposed.
 
Let's say a person belonged to a group that obeyed bin, Laden. He was a terrorist who promoted a religion of terrorism. Therefore, obeying that person contradicts the law of conscience, which is to love our neighbor. To not grant freedom of religion is to not respect human dignity. This is true of other situations in our world which will continue to cause pain for many.
 
However, when you still do not know how to behave concerning the authority of public officials, Catholics need to respect the decisions of the Church. We are believers in Jesus his body the church, not politicians.
 
"Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me" (Matthew 10:40). The late Cardinal Kim Su-hwan told a high-ranking police official who said he would send the police into the Myeongdong Cathedral to arrest the students. This was just before the June 29 declaration for democratization: "If you want to arrest students, step on me, then on the priests and nuns and go in."