Mark Shea has given us a very well-written post on the issue of why the Church interacts and even tries at times to support the United Nations. Very often we forget just how ancient is the Church, and that it has seen empires greater than any now existent come and go and has had to deal with each of them in one way or another.
The Church, which antedates not just the nation/state but the Holy Roman Empire, keeps an eye on this and does what she’s always done: try to address whichever competent governmental authority men devise for themselves to try to keep order and preserve the Common Good. Doesn’t mean the Church thinks the UN is flawless any more than Paul thought Nero was a great guy. It just means that here, supremely, is an example of the Church trying to navigate the rocky waters of history and read the signs of the times.
