In this book, Father Gaston Courtois establishes the leader’s authority, showing that it comes from God, the source of all authority, not from the members of the society he leads. The leader’s mission is, therefore, a mission entrusted to him by God.

However, far from encouraging leaders to rest on their laurels, Courtois insists that this divinely appointed mission lays a great responsibility on their shoulders: they must have (or do everything they can to develop) the qualities that make true leaders.

Finally, he shows how leaders should carry out the various aspects of their role.

Society is hugely influenced by its leaders. Will they be men who look to their own self-interest and satisfy their own whims, or will they be men who look to the common good and the good of the subordinates for whom they have responsibility before God?