The teaching of the Church
has elaborated the principle of subsidiarity, according to which "a community
of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community
of a lower order, depriving the latter of its functions, but rather should
support it in case of need and help to co-ordinate its activity with the activities
of the rest of society, always with a view to the common good" (CA, n. 48;
cf. QA, nn. 184—186). God has not willed to reserve to himself all exercise
of power. He entrusts to every creature the functions it is capable of performing,
according to the capacities of its own nature. This mode of governance ought
to be followed in social life. The way God acts in governing the world, which
bears witness to such great regard for human freedom, should inspire the wisdom
of those who govern human communities. They should behave as ministers of
divine providence. The principle of subsidiarity is opposed to all forms of
collectivism. It sets limits for state intervention. It aims at harmonizing
the relationships between individuals and societies. It tends toward the establishment
of true international order.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1994, nn. 1883-1885.
In contrast, from the
Christian vision of the human person there necessarily follows a correct picture
of society. According to Rerum Novarum and the whole social doctrine
of the Church, the social nature of man is not completely fulfilled in the
State, but is realized in various intermediary groups, beginning with the
family and including economic, social, political and cultural groups which
stem from human nature itself and have their own autonomy, always with a view
to the common good. This is what I have called the "subjectivity" of society
which, together with the subjectivity of the individual, was cancelled out
by "Real Socialism" (SRS, nn. 15, 28).
- John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, May 1, 1991, n.
13.
It is in full accord
with human nature that juridical—political structures should, with ever
better success and without any discrimination, afford all their citizens the
chance to participate freely and actively in establishing the constitutional
bases of a political community, governing the state, determining the scope
and purpose of various institutions, and choosing leaders.... Authorities
must beware of hindering family, social, or cultural groups, as well as intermediate
bodies and institutions. They must not deprive them of their own lawful and
effective activity, but should rather strive to promote them willingly and
in an orderly fashion. For their part, citizens both as individuals and in
association should be on guard against granting government too much authority
and inappropriately seeking from it excessive conveniences and advantages,
with a consequent weakening of the sense of responsibility on the part of
individuals, families, and social groups.
- Vatican Council II, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World
(Gaudium et Spes), December 7, 1965, n. 75.
[I]n exceptional circumstances
the State can also exercise a substitute function, when sectors or business
systems are too weak or are just getting under way, and are not equal to the
task at hand. Such supplementary interventions, which are justified by urgent
reasons touching the common good, must be as brief as possible, so as to avoid
removing permanently from society and business systems the functions which
are properly theirs, and so as to avoid enlarging excessively the sphere of
State intervention to the detriment of both economic and civil freedom. In
recent years the range of such intervention has vastly expanded, to the point
of creating a new type of state, the so-called ‘Welfare State.’
This has happened in some countries in order to respond better to many needs
and demands, by remedying forms of poverty and deprivation unworthy of the
human person. However, excesses and abuses, especially in recent years, have
provoked very harsh criticisms of the Welfare State, dubbed the ‘Social
Assistance State.’ Malfunctions and defects in the Social Assistance
State are the result of an inadequate understanding of the tasks proper to
the State. Here again the principle of subsidiarity must be respected: a community
of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community
of a lower order, depriving the latter of its functions, but rather should
support it in case of need and help to coordinate its activity with the activities
of the rest of society, always with a view to the common good. By intervening
directly and depriving society of its responsibility, the Social Assistance
State leads to a loss of human energies and an inordinate increase of public
agencies, which are dominated more by bureaucratic ways of thinking than by
concern for serving their clients, and which are accompanied by an enormous
increase in spending. In fact, it would appear that needs are best understood
and satisfied by people who are closest to them and who act as neighbors to
those in need. It should be added that certain kinds of demands often call
for a response which is not simply material but which is capable of perceiving
the deeper human need. One thinks of the condition of refugees, immigrants,
the elderly, the sick, and all those in circumstances which call for assistance,
such as drug abusers: all these people can be helped effectively only by those
who offer them genuine fraternal support, in addition to the necessary care.
- John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, May 1, 1991, n.
48.
And yet many today go
so far as to condemn the Church as the ancient pagans once did, for such outstanding
charity, and would substitute in lieu thereof a system of benevolence established
by the laws of the State. But no human devices can ever be found to supplant
Christian charity, which gives itself entirely for the benefit of others.
This virtue belongs to the Church alone, for, unless it is derived from the
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, it is in no wise a virtue; and whosoever departs
from the Church wanders far from Christ.
- Leo XIII, Encyclical Letter Rerum Novarum (On the Conditions of the
Workers), May 15, 1891, n. 30.
If Pope Leo XIII calls
upon the State to remedy the condition of the poor in accordance with justice,
he does so because of his timely awareness that the state has the duty of
watching over thecommon good and of ensuring that every sector of social life,
not excluding the economic one, contributes to achieving that good, while
respecting the rightful autonomy of each sector. This should not, however,
lead us to think that Pope Leo expected the state to solve every soci al
problem. On the contrary, he frequently insists on necessary limits to the
State’s intervention and on its instrumental character, inasmuch as the
State exists in order to protect their rights and not stifle them.
- John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, May 1, 1991, n.
11.
