Word and Deed: RB 2. 11–15
11/January/2008 Filed in:
JottingsMore points to ponder from chapter two of the Rule. No room here for double-standards, no evasion of responsibility. The standards we set for others must be the standards by which we ourselves live, and we must beware of any hypocrisy or smugness in our attitudes. I think Benedict is here demanding leadership of a high order: not only should the abbot be capable of articulating what we might call the community ethos, he is expected to embody it and lead by example. Unlike a politician, for example, an abbot can't have "a private life" which is not subject to scrutiny. He must be a person of absolute integrity. Not a comfortable thought when one looks at one's own shortcomings!