Recently an Australian Archbishop created something of a stir on Twitter among the Catholic circles. Archbishop Coleridge of Brisbane tweeted that he did not “want or have” Jesus as King. He later “clarified” is position by tweeting that he does not “favour royalist ideologies.” I think all this proves is that Twitter is not the place to have any kind of theological discussion; 140 characters is just not enough to “do” theology.

I am not sure exactly what Archbishop Coleridge was trying to say, but the Church’s clear teaching is that Jesus Christ is our King. Today’s Feast of Christ the King was instituted by Pope Pius XI on December 11, 1925 in his encyclical, Quas Primas. With much of Europe still recovering from the devastation of the First World War, the Holy Father noted that “these manifold evils in the world were due to the fact that the majority of men had thrust Jesus Christ and his holy law out of their lives; that these had no place either in private affairs or in politics, … that as long as individuals and states refused to submit to the rule of our Savior, there would be no really hopeful prospect of a lasting peace among nations…. Peace could not be more effectually restored nor fixed upon a firmer basis than through the restoration of the Empire of Our Lord” (Quas Primas#1).

Pope Pius XI highlighted both the Old Testament and New Testament basis for the kingship of Christ. The prophets foretold that God would raise up from the line of King David a Messiah who would rule over Israel and all of humankind forever. The Archangel Gabriel announced the fulfillment of this promise when he announced to Mary, “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:31–33).

Pius explained that by virtue of Christ’s claim to kingship as creator and redeemer, societies as well as individuals owe Him obligations as king. “So he is said to reign ‘in the hearts of men,’ both by reason of the keenness of his intellect and the extent of his knowledge, and also because he is very truth, and it is from him that truth must be obediently received by all mankind. He reigns, too, in the wills of men, for in him the human will was perfectly and entirely obedient to the Holy Will of God, and further by his grace and inspiration he so subjects our free-will as to incite us to the most noble endeavors. He is King of hearts, too, by reason of his ‘charity which exceedeth all knowledge’” (Quas Primas#7).

While Christ’s Kingdom is primarily a spiritual kingdom, Pope Pius XI stated that “It would be a grave error, on the other hand, to say that Christ has no authority whatever in civil affairs, since, by virtue of the absolute empire over all creatures committed to him by the Father, all things are in his power” (Quas Primas #17).

Finally, while the encyclical was primarily addressed to the bishops of the world, announcing when the new feast would be celebrated in the liturgical calendar, the Holy Father felt that the feast should encourage the laity; “The faithful, moreover, by meditating upon these truths, will gain much strength and courage, enabling them to form their lives after the true Christian ideal. If to Christ our Lord is given all power in heaven and on earth; if all men, purchased by his precious blood, are by a new right subjected to his dominion; if this power embraces all men, it must be clear that not one of our faculties is exempt from his empire. He must reign in our minds, which should assent with perfect submission and firm belief to revealed truths and to the doctrines of Christ. He must reign in our wills, which should obey the laws and precepts of God. He must reign in our hearts, which should spurn natural desires and love God above all things, and cleave to him alone. He must reign in our bodies and in our members, which should serve as instruments for the interior sanctification of our souls, or to use the words of the Apostle Paul, as instruments of justice unto God” (Quas Primas#33).