Authority has many faces. Sometimes, it generates fear, as shown by the old story told about Stalin, the Soviet dictator. Stalin apparently wanted to find out if he was really as popular as his advisers kept telling him. So, one afternoon he slipped out from the Kremlin unseen and went to a cinema, sitting unnoticed amidst the crowds. At the end of the film, the National Anthem was played, and Stalin’s face appeared on the screen. Everyone stood up and sang along enthusiastically. Stalin, of course, remained sitting, overjoyed to see for himself this spontaneous act of loyalty. Then someone behind him leaned over, and whispered in his ear. “Believe me comrade, we all think the same way as you, but for your own sake it will be better if you stand up and sing like the rest of us!”

But if at one end of the spectrum, sits a crushing and controlling authoritarianism, at the other end can be a power vacuum. This is what happens when a person charged with authority refuses to assume their proper role, perhaps through fear of becoming a little dictator, and so losing their friends. This was more or less what happened in my early days in L’Arche Inverness 30 years ago: we young assistants were all fairly ambivalent about authority. But not everyone in Braerannoch house had such self doubts, and the vacuum was quickly filled by ‘Ricky’, one of the people welcomed to L'Arche with a disability. If his frequent and insistent, “I’m in charge!” became rather annoying, we only had ourselves to blame: for ‘Ricky’ was just reacting to our own reluctance to bring him the atmosphere of security he badly needed.

For the truth is that ‘good’ authority actually brings us security and freedom. Wisely led, we can relax and live more peacefully with each other, knowing that we are being well ‘held.’ Good leadership creates the kind of atmosphere where trust and openness can flourish, where we can grow to maturity and accept our own authority.

But where can we find such a liberating authority? We don’t have to look far for examples telling the opposite story, but the leadership that truly desires to bring each person to freedom, where can this be found? Experience shows that there is no definitive recipe, bringing guaranteed results. Perhaps, this is not surprising, given the great diversity of human life. But even if we don’t have the whole recipe, it seems clear that certain ingredients are indispensable. This is surely why, in revising our International Constitution in 1999, we placed six key structural principles, such as servant leadership, at the very beginning. Together, they remind us of the spirit in which all our structures and leaders should operate, and the whole goal to which L'Arche aspires: to enable each person to flourish in relationships of trust that bring us to true freedom.

We hope you enjoy this edition of Letters of L'Arche and welcome your feedback on any of the issues raised, though we don’t guarantee to publish all the letters. An exercise of editorial authority, which we hope brings the kind of security ‘Ricky’ would appreciate!

Jim Cargin
International Communications Coordinator
jim.cargin@larche.org