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It鈥檚 an issue that Prevost would have dealt with as a superior of the Augustinian religious order from 2001-2012, bishop of Chiclayo, Peru from 2014-2023, and as prefect of the Vatican鈥檚 dicastery for bishops, from 2023 until his election last week as pope. The Vatican office not only vets nominations of bishops around the world but also reviews cases of bishops who are accused of abusing their authority.

The Rev. Thomas Joseph White, rector of the Dominican-run Pontifical St. Thomas Aquinas University where Prevost studied from 1981 to 1985, said Prevost鈥檚 canon law thesis demonstrated a 鈥渧ery mature and nuanced鈥� understanding of religious life and authority, especially for someone his age. Prevost would have been at the university, known as the Angelicum, from around 26 to 30 years old.

White said that Prevost was specifically interested in the issue of religious authority in light of the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council and the new legal code that the Catholic Church adopted in 1983, while Prevost was at the university. In an email, he said Prevost underscored that all exercise of authority is meant to be a selfless act of service for the common good.

White highlighted a line from the thesis drawing from St. Augustine鈥檚 concept of authority and service: 鈥淭here is no room in Augustine鈥檚 concept of authority for one who is self-seeking and in search of power over others,” Prevost wrote.

鈥淭he exercise of authority in any Christian community requires the setting aside of all self-interest and a total dedication to the good of the community,鈥� he wrote. “This is the attitude which must be adopted as the starting point for an authentic understanding of the role of the local superior.鈥�

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.