Vatican City (Fides Service) - "The commitment of Christians in the world has found a variety of expressions in the course of the past 2000 years. One such expression has been Christian involvement in political life: Christians, as one Early Church writer stated, "play their full role as citizens". Among the saints, the Church venerates many men and women who served God through their generous commitment to politics and government. Among these, Saint Thomas More, who was proclaimed Patron of Statesmen and Politicians, gave witness by his martyrdom to "the inalienable dignity of the human conscience". Though subjected to various forms of psychological pressure, Saint Thomas More refused to compromise, never forsaking the "constant fidelity to legitimate authority and institutions" which distinguished him; he taught by his life and his death that "man cannot be separated from God, nor politics from morality". It is commendable that in today's democratic societies, in a climate of true freedom, everyone is made a participant in directing the body politic. Such societies call for new and fuller forms of participation in public life by Christian and non-Christian citizens alike. Indeed, all can contribute, by voting in elections for lawmakers and government officials, and in other ways as well, to the development of political solutions and legislative choices which, in their opinion, will benefit the common good. The life of a democracy could not be productive without the active, responsible and generous involvement of everyone, "albeit in a diversity and complementarity of forms, levels, tasks, and responsibilities". This is the first paragraph of a Doctrinal Note issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. See complete text in English >> (Fides Service 17/1/2003)