Empowerment, Catholic Style
Thanks to its name, “subsidiarity” is probably the least understood of Catholic social principles. It is not actually difficult to understand, however, and when properly understood can be readily accepted as one of the most important of Catholic social concepts. One key to understanding may lie in thinking of it as “empowerment, Catholic style.”
To help clarify the implications of this important principle, we reached out to Catholics across the country, including several of the nation’s leading voices in social justice, and have incorporated respondents’ comments into the discussion below.
In simple terms, the principle of subsidiarity states that each element of society should serve its own proper purpose, and support others in serving theirs, with the over-arching goal of encouraging and enabling authentic human development for the whole of society. All social elements are called to support one another by providing any required help, or “subsidium.” This includes staying out of the way of other, properly responsible social elements. One consequence of this principle is that each individual, and all smaller groups of people, should be allowed to make for themselves all the decisions that can responsibly be left to them, and to look after their own affairs with the help of other and greater authorities, if and as required.
Jennifer Ide, St Patrick’s Church, Toronto:
As someone new to the concept of subsidiarity, I found this reflection both enlightening and encouraging. I was reminded of 1 Corinthians 12:14-27, where the Body of Christ is made up of many distinct parts, each contributing something valuable in its own way. Even the parts that seem smaller have a purpose that cannot simply be assumed by another - the heart could never fulfill the role of the ear, nor the ear that of the heart - and the health of the whole depends on each part carrying out its own role while supporting, rather than overtaking, the work of the others.
The Church considers it wrong for any “higher” or stronger authority to arrogate to itself responsibilities or privileges that could responsibly be left to “lower” or weaker groups. Thus for example federal governments should help state and provincial governments do things, rather than doing them themselves, just as provincial governments should leave responsibilities to individuals, families and local communities wherever possible.
Father Kevin Belgrave, St Augustine’s Seminary Toronto:
I’ve always thought of subsidiarity in the following terms: there is a “scale” to the image of God… the scale of the family, of the neighborhood, of the city, etc, etc. Each level of the scale is essential to the human person’s capacity to thrive. If one rung in the scale is weak, there will be something missing for the person’s full thriving. Each “rung” or element of the scale needs to respect the work of the other parts. I don’t usually think of it as “higher” or “lower” just different. Family needs to respect the goods that only come through the “city” (etc) and the rungs of political community need to respect the goods that only come through family and neighborhood (i.e., mediating institutions).
Miles Smit, PhD, Petrarch Institute
The Faith is both Incarnational and Hierarchical. Because it is Incarnational, it must uphold all the local dignities that go with a Body -- thus Subsidiarity defends every competency that particular bodies from the individual to the family to the broader community can exercise. Because it is Hierarchical, the Faith seeks to align, embed and integrate every local authority in the higher levels.
As explained by the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, this view of empowerment “is imperative because every person, family and intermediate group has something original to offer to the community. Experience shows that the denial of subsidiarity, or its limitation in the name of an alleged democratization or equality of all members of society, limits and sometimes even destroys the spirit of freedom and initiative.” (Compendium, 187)
Kathleen Muggeridge, Young Professional Catholics of Toronto:
Subsidiarity is therefore a critical factor in the empowerment of the common good. A great fruit of this teaching exists on the spiritual plain; subsidiarity provides room for the individual to freely submit to God and His unique and perfect Will for their life, thus leading to the flourishing of the individual's personal relationship with Him. The opposite happens when subsidiarity doesn't exist and the individual will of a person is absorbed by governing authorities; the individual's ability to give a true "fiat" to God's call from the depths of their heart is inhibited if not fully uprooted.
Professor Danielle Morin, Montreal:
God entrusts real responsibility to individuals and communities. Each person and group has something unique to offer and should not be replaced by larger structures. True empowerment is not doing whatever we want, but growing in freedom rooted in truth and the common good. Lived well, subsidiarity protects dignity, encourages initiative, and leads us closer to God.
Being a Catholic doctrine and therefore oriented toward the authentic development of the individual, this brand of empowerment comes with some conditions. For example, while it promotes the idea of empowering individuals and smaller groups to express their freedom, it is meant to promote authentic freedom, which is intimately bound to truth and the needs of the common good, and therefor points directly toward God.
This distinguishes Catholic subsidiarity from some secular conceptions of empowerment, which encourage individuals to seek the realization of their own “inner truths” by indulging whatever impulses or desires they see fit, with no firm reference to their own authentic needs, or the needs or interests of others - even to the point of chasing unreal fantasies or indulging greedy inclinations.
In summary:
Peter Copeland, Toronto
I think it might help to expand on why the church promotes subsidiarity. Although it might come off sounding a bit theoretical, it all works very nicely when you couch explanations of CST principles in logical terms, starting a logical chain with our creation in the image of God, Imago dei, and the imperative of serving the common good, and working onward from there. For example, we are made Imago dei, and to live that reality we are given freedom and meant to use it in society; and we do so by developing and exercising our capacities, which includes responsibility and ownership of the things in our lives. That's why we have subsidiarity - it helps us develop and exercise our freedom properly, which is done by seeking truth and promoting goodness in the social form, which is the common good. Teleologically, subsidiarity is present when those who ought to be responsible for a given order are using it for the realization of the common good.
George Cervinka, Montreal
Subsidiarity becomes clearest in practice when we notice what goes wrong without it: well-meaning systems that centralise decisions end up weakening families, parishes, and local institutions rather than strengthening them. Catholic empowerment is not about maximising choice, but about placing responsibility where it can be carried truthfully, with higher authorities supporting rather than substituting.