Social Justice, Political, Authority and >“As small as possible, but big

Institutions [Family, Community, & when necessary.”

Participation]

The word ‘subsidiarity’ comes

Subsidiarity from the Latin word for help
(subsidium). The principle relies on
>Assistance/Aid
two central understandings which:
>Refers to the way the various
levels of society should relate to each
other and assist one another in 1. provide the conditions
bringing the best outcome for all necessary to achieve public order
people.
>The distinction between “higher
2. promote the common good.
collectives” on one hand and “lesser
and subordination bodies on the other
hand. ”
Two Key Understandings:
>Respects the natural groupings
that people form with their neighbors.
1. The human person and family must
>A community of a higher order
come before the nation or government.
should not interfere with the life of a
community of a lower order, taking
over its functions.
Human persons are born into
families and into a fabric of
relationships. The family is the
The Heart of Subsidiarity
foundation of the church and the basic
>The distinction between state unit of society. Institutions only exist
and society. to serve human needs and interests by
working for the common good.

Intervention of the Government

2. Decision-making should not be
>Authority (entails responsibility)
concentrated in the hands of a few
and funding (entails intervention)
mechanisms are necessary.
>The principle of subsidiarity but be dispersed as widely as
must be respected. possible and be exercised by the most
appropriate group of people, as close
>A community of a higher order
to the local level as is reasonable. The
should not interfere with the life of a
role of the State is to promote the
community of a lower order, taking
wellbeing of all people in a country by
over its functions.
promoting:
1. economic prosperity
 2. equality of opportunity >State should serve the Society
and not control.
3. social equity.

“Subsidiarity needs Participation”

Social Justice
>Presupposes solidarity and
common good. Inter-religious Dialogue
>An obligation to be productive
and participative to the society, and
1. Encounter - Not to destroy but to
that society should enable them to
learn/listen;
participate.
2. Dialogue - Not strategic but
communicative;
Government Reciprocal
3. Plurality - Not a problem by calls for
Community Relationship celebration; not imposition but
enrichment;
4. Peace Thru Common Good - Not
differences but similarities;
Quadragesimo Anno
5. Truth - Not many but one;
>Pope Pius XI
6. Attitude - Not superiority but
>Topic: Social Justice openness.

>Social and Economic Order

Labor > Capital
Preferential Option for the Poor
>Equity - those who need should
be given what they need.
Levels of Society
Inter-religious Dialogue
>is a challenging process by
which adherents of differing religious
traditions encounter each other in
order to break down the walls of
division that stand at the center of
most wars. The objective of
interreligious dialogue is peace.

Peace and Mercy

The Heart of Society: >Mercy is the foundation of
Individual peace .

Family >Mercy is a political act par

excellence, provided the policy is set
in its noblest sense, of caring for the
human family beginning with ethical
values, of which mercy is a principal
component opposed to violence,
Religions as Wombs of Life
oppression, injustice, and the spirit of
domination. >Bearing the merciful love of god
to a wounded and needy humanity;
may they be doors of hope helping to
Pope Francis to Representatives of penetrate the walls erected by pride
Different Religions and fear.
>Disinterested love, fraternal
service and sincere sharing.
>The Church increasingly desires
to adopt this way of life, also as part of
her ‘‘duty to foster unity and charity”
among all men and women (Nostra
Aetate, 1).
Time of Fraternity Expressed through
Seeking Occasions of Encounter
>“… makes us more open to
dialogue, the better to know and
understand one another; eliminates Preferential Option for the Poor
every form of closed-mindedness and Who are the Poor?
disrespect; and drives out every form
of violence and discrimination” >Those experiencing material
(Misericordiae vultus, 23). poverty

>Rejection of aimless paths of >The vulnerable, the oppressed,

disagreement and closed-mindedness. the powerless

>Fostering everywhere the >The spiritually and emotionally

peaceful encounter of believers and poor
genuine religious freedom.

Spiritual Dettachment
Mercy: Familiar Theme to Many >Cura Personalis - “To give and
Religions and Cultural Traditions not to count the cost.”
>To bow down with
compassionate love before the weak
and needy is part of the authentic Violence is never the answer!
spirit of religion, which rejects the
temptation to resort to force, refuses
to barter human lives and sees others
as brothers and sisters, and never Stewardship
mere statistics.
 >Human person has the crown of “principal key” to human
creation, but doesn’t entail existence
SUPERIORITY but rather
b) every technological, scientific
RESPONSIBILITY
or industrial advancement is
>A Moral Imperative. embraced before considering
how it will affect the
environment and “without
Stewardship concern for its potential
negative impact on human
beings”
Top 10 Takeaways from Laudato Si
c) a society of “extreme
consumerism”

1. The spiritual perspective is now d) Christian spirituality offers a

part of the discussion on the growth marked by
environment. “moderation and the capacity
to be happy with little”
a) Understand creation as a holy
and precious gift from God to
be reverenced by all men and
women
4. Catholic Social Teaching (CST) now
b) the pope also hopes to offer
includes teaching on the environment.
“ample motivation” to
Christians and other believers a) it continues the kind of
“to care for nature”. reflection on modern-day
problems
b) the idea of the “common
2. The poor are disproportionately
good”
affected by climate change.
a) The “worse impacts” of
climate change are felt by 5. Discussions about ecology can be
those living in the developing grounded in the Bible and church
countries. tradition

b) because the poor themselves a) the call to care for creation

have fewer financial resources extends as far back as the
that enable them to adapt to Book of Genesis, when
climate change. humankind was called to “till
and keep” the earth
b) love for creation through both
3. Less is more.
the Old and New Testaments.
a) “Technocratic” mindset =
technology is seen as the
6. Everything is connected—including physically, with no real
the economy. contact to their brothers and
sisters
a) “We are part of nature,
included in it, and thus in d) One cannot care for the rest of
constant interaction with it” nature “if our hearts lack
tenderness, compassion and
b) “magical conception of the
concern for our fellow human
market,” which privileges
beings”
profit over the impact on the
poor, with the abuse of the 9. Global dialogue and solidarity are
environment needed.
c) “Profit cannot be the sole a) Catholic principle of
criterion” of our decisions. subsidiarity
b) the “new dialogue” and
“honest debate” – by “all
7. Scientific research on the
people” about our “common
environment is to be praised and used.
home”
a) accepts the “best scientific
c) there are “no uniform recipes”
research available today” and
builds on it
b) Laudato Si’ draws upon both 10. A change of heart is required
church teaching and
a) “every person on the planet”
contemporary findings from
is called for a new way of
other fields—particularly
looking at things
science, in order to help
modern-day people b) “bold cultural revolution”
c) the Earth has begun to look
more and more like “an
immense pile of filth”
8. Widespread indifference and
d) intimate connection between
selfishness worsen environmental
God and all beings, and more
problems.
readily listen to the “cry of the
a) “Many of those who possess earth and the cry of the poor”
more resources seem mostly
e) move towards an “ecological
to be concerned with masking
conversion”
the problems or concealing
their symptoms…”
b) Why are so many of the
wealthy turning away from
the poor?
c) Decision makers are “far
removed from the poor,”