Subsidiarity - November 8, 2010

On Monday, November 8, 2010, the first principles of the social teachings of the Catholic Church will complete the “Introduction” to those principles. That Monday session will conclude with a review and a discussion of the principle of subsidiarity (which principle is found at the end of the Temporal Order talk).

Remember, the operating first principle invoked for our purpose is this: “The whole is prior to and greater than any one of its parts.” As mentioned this first principle is analogous to the human body.

In the case of the Catholic Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, the analogy holds.

The Catholic Church is in Christ-like: a sacrament or a sign, and instrument both of a very closely knit union with God and of the unity of the whole human race. The Church desires now to unfold more fully to the faithful of the Church and to the whole world its own inner nature and universal mission.

(Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, no. 1)

The opposite view is the modern principle: “The whole is the sum of its parts”. In America, that principle is expressed by a motto: e pluribus unumL “out of the many comes unity”). Thus, the Constitution of the United States of America states in its Preamble:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

In the opening session of MOM, the following elements of the Church's social teachings were discussed ever so briefly:

1. Common life;

2. Common good;

3. Hierarchical Structure; and,

4. Law

The fifth and final element of the social teachings of the Catholic Church to be presented is the principle of subsidiarity or “social justice.” The word, “subsidiarity,” comes from the Latin language: sub (under) + sedes (the seat).

Social justice is defined as ordering everything to its own proper end. As defined, Social justice is the principle of subsidiarity. Thus, the principle of subsidiarity, is the topic of discussion on November 8, 2010.

The following talk is made available as a possible contribution to one’s personal growth and development.

Personal Growth Part One

Personal Growth Part Two