“To decide is to choose; and to choose is one of the most difficult things that a man is called to do”. Pope Francis quoted these words by Rosario Livatino as he received in audience the members of the Study Centre named after him. “And it is by choosing to make a decision, by deciding to issue a sentence that a believing magistrate can build a relationship with God”, Pope Francis continued, quoting the magistrate: “A direct relationship, since providing justice is a form of self-realization, of prayer, of devoting oneself to God. An indirect relationship since it involves love for the person who is judged. And this task will be lighter if the magistrate is humbly aware of his own weaknesses, if he shows society that he is ready and willing to understand the man in front of him, and to judge him without the attitude of a superman, but with constructive contrition”. “In this way, in these words, Rosario Livatino left us a shining example of how faith can be fully expressed in the service of the civil community and its laws – the Pope explained – and how obedience to the Church can be compatible with obedience to the State, in particular with the delicate and important ministry of law enforcement”. “Harmony is the bond uniting free men and women who make up civil society”, Pope Francis observed: “By your commitment as law experts, you are called to contribute to the construction of this harmony, showing the reasons for the consistency between anthropological roots, the formulation of principles, and the guidelines for their application in daily life”, he told those present. He then ended with a surprising autobiographical detail: “After Mr Livatino’s death, a mysterious annotation was found in a number of his notes: “S.T.D.”. It was soon discovered that it was an acronym for the act of total entrustment that Mr Rosario would often make to God: S.T.D. stands for Sub Tutela Dei. I hope you will continue in his footsteps, in his school of life and thought”.