I do not tink I have ever found myself in the sort of problem you outline. The institutions to which I am most loyal would include the Catholic Church, the Italian Republic, and to a lesser extent things like the University of Oxford and the United Kingdom. I have not found myself in any situation that demanded me to choose between a friend and an institution (which, at any rate, would ultimately always involve having to choose one person over another, since institutions are always represented by persons), although I have a few times experienced the horror of betrayal by a close friend. But that is a separate matter.
Besides, it depends what you mean. By being loyal to the Church or to my country, I do not mean that I have to put up with every action that its representatives, or even its leaders, take. Sometimes loyalty means protesting to their faces. On one occasion, I have protested in writing to Pope John Paul himself.
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Date: 2005-05-27 03:20 pm (UTC)Besides, it depends what you mean. By being loyal to the Church or to my country, I do not mean that I have to put up with every action that its representatives, or even its leaders, take. Sometimes loyalty means protesting to their faces. On one occasion, I have protested in writing to Pope John Paul himself.