via Ruth Graham, Elizabeth Dias, and Jason Horowitz:

Almost 40 years ago, an American graduate student in Rome was closely examining the question of what it meant to be a wise and effective leader in the Catholic Church.

Today, the doctoral dissertation that Robert Prevost produced in the mid-1980s is one of the most detailed glimpses into the early intellectual life of the man who became Pope Leo XIV this month….

“There is no room in Augustine’s concept of authority for one who is self-seeking and in search of power over others,” the future pope wrote in one passage. “The exercise of authority in any Christian community requires the setting aside of all self-interest and a total dedication to the good of the community.”…

He wrote in his thesis that “the virtue of humility is indispensable for any superior” and referenced the New Testament book of 1 Peter: “Be examples to the flock, not lording it over those assigned to you.”…

Citing Pope Paul VI, who led the church from 1963 to 1978, he stresses the need for balance between the values of love and freedom, and obedience and order. A new “age of personalism” was influencing life in religious orders, too.

Father Prevost was very concerned with authority and its potential for misuse. He draws this theme from St. Augustine, who is cited everywhere in his thesis. Augustine was concerned about the human lust for domination, and how leaders and institutions needed to work to put boundaries on unchecked power….

Father Prevost repeatedly emphasizes that authority should be a service rather than an opportunity for control. Again citing Augustine, he notes that authority in religious life is not an end to itself. In the order, a leader’s role is to help those in the community “live harmoniously,” guiding them through potential pitfalls and conflicts, and to listen, discuss and respect the talent and intelligence of all. True authority, he writes, requires trust and humility.