Within six months, the world’s two best-known moral authorities found themselves in public exchanges with the president of the United States. In April, Pope Leo XIV, answering a harsh attack from President Donald Trump, said he had “no fear” of the Trump administration. On Friday, hours after winning the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, the South African jurist Navi Pillay told an applauding audience, “If you clap a little bit more, I may share this prize with Trump.”

One was a reply under attack; the other was an unprovoked joke. The moments differ, but they reveal the same forgotten truth. Institutions whose only power is moral authority spend it every time they step into a political fight. Stalin reportedly asked how many divisions the Pope had. The answer is none, and the Nobel committee has no army either. Their power rests on trust that they speak for something above the quarrels of the day. That trust took generations to build. It can be drawn down in an afternoon. Like many people of every faith and none, I grew up regarding both with near reverence, not because I agreed with every word, but because I trusted that they spoke for everyone. In science, too, a referee who mocks one author loses the standing to judge the next paper.