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Pursue the common good by solidarity
On Saturday morning, 3 May [2008], the Holy Father met
with Members of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences on its 14th
Plenary Session. The following is his Address for the occasion.
Dear Brothers in the
Episcopate and the Priesthood,
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to have
this occasion to meet with you as you gather for the 14th Plenary
Session of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. Over the last two
decades, the Academy has offered a valuable contribution to the
deepening and development of the Church's social doctrine and its
application in the areas of law, economics, politics and the various
other social sciences.
I thank Professor
Margaret Archer for her kind words of greeting, and I express my sincere
appreciation to all of you for your commitment to research, dialogue and
teaching, so that the Gospel of Jesus Christ may continue to shed light
on the complex situations arising in a rapidly changing world.
In choosing the theme
"Pursuing the Common Good: How Solidarity and Subsidiarity Can Work
Together", you have decided to examine the interrelationships between
four fundamental principles of Catholic social teaching: the dignity of
the human person, the common good, subsidiarity and solidarity (cf.
Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, nn. 160-163).
These key realities,
which emerge from the living contact between the Gospel and concrete
social circumstances, offer a framework for viewing and addressing the
imperatives facing mankind at the dawn of the 21st century, such as
reducing inequalities in the distribution of goods, expanding
opportunities for education, fostering sustainable growth and
development, and protecting the environment.
How can solidarity and
subsidiarity work together in the pursuit of the common good in a way
that not only respects human dignity, but allows it to flourish?
This is the heart of the
matter which concerns you. As your preliminary discussions have already
revealed, a satisfactory answer can only surface after careful
examination of the meaning of the terms (cf. Compendium of the Social
Doctrine of the Church, Ch. 4).
Human dignity
is the intrinsic value of a person
created in the image and likeness of God and redeemed by Christ. The
totality of social conditions allowing persons to achieve their communal
and individual fulfilment is known as the
common good.
Solidarity
refers to the virtue enabling the human
family to share fully the treasure of material and spiritual goods, and
subsidiarity is the coordination of society's activities in a way
that supports the internal life of the local communities.
Yet definitions are only
the beginning. What is more, these definitions are adequately grasped
only when linked organically to one another and seen as mutually
supportive of one another.
Common good: a
complex good
We can initially sketch
the interconnections between these four principles by placing the
dignity of the person at the intersection of two axes: on horizontal,
representing "solidarity" and "subsidiarity", and one vertical,
representing the "common good". This creates a field upon which we can
plot the various points of Catholic social teaching that give shape to
the common good.
Though this graphic
analogy gives us a rudimentary picture of how these fundamental
principles imply one another and are necessarily interwoven, we know
that the reality is much more complex. Indeed, the unfathomable depths
of the human person and mankind's marvellous capacity for spiritual
communion — realities which are fully disclosed only through divine
revelation — far exceed the capacity of schematic representation.
The solidarity that binds the human family,
and the subsidiary levels reinforcing it from within, must however
always be placed within the horizon of the mysterious life of the Triune
God (cf. Jn 5:26; 6:57), in whom we perceive an ineffable love shared by
equal, though nonetheless distinct, persons (cf. Summa Theologiae,
I, q. 42).
My friends, I invite you
to allow this fundamental truth to permeate your reflections: not only
in the sense that the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity are
undoubtedly enriched by our belief in the Trinity, but particularly in
the sense that these principles have the potential to place men and
women on the path to discovering their definitive, supernatural destiny.
The natural human inclination to live in community is confirmed and
transformed by the "oneness of Spirit" which God has bestowed upon his
adopted sons and daughters (cf. Eph 4:3; I Pt 3:8).
Consequently, the
responsibility of Christians to work for peace and justice, their
irrevocable commitment to build up the common good, is inseparable from
their mission to proclaim the gift of etern life to which God has called
every man and woman.
In this regard, the
tranquillitas ordinis of which St Augustine speaks refers to "all
things": that is to say both "civil peace", which is a "concord among
citizens", and the "peace of the heavenly city", which is the "perfectly
ordered and harmonious enjoyment of God, and
The eyes of faith permit
us to see that the heavenly and earthly cities, interpenetrate and are
intrinsically ordered to one another, inasmuch as they both belong to
God the Father, who is "above all, and through all and in all" (Eph
4:6). At the same time, faith places into sharper focus the due autonomy
of earthly affairs, insofar as they are "endowed with their own
stability, truth, goodness, proper laws and order" (Gaudium et Spes,
36).
Promote solidarity, subsidiarity
Hence, you can be assured that your discussions
will be of service to all people of good will, while simultaneously
inspiring Christians to embrace more readily their obligation to enhance
solidarity with and among their fellow citizens, and to act upon the
principle of subsidiarity by promoting family life, voluntary
associations, private initiative, and a public order that facilitates
the healthy functioning of society's most basic communities (cf.
Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the
Church, n. 187).
When we examine the
principles of solidarity and subsidiarity in the light of the Gospel, we
realize that they are not simply "horizontal": they both have an
essentially vertical dimension. Jesus commands us to do unto others as
we would have them do unto us (cf. Lk 6:31); to love our neighbour as
ourselves (cf. Mt 22:35). These laws are inscribed by the Creator in
man's very nature (cf. Deus Caritas Est, n. 31).
Jesus teaches that this
love calls us to lay down our lives for the good of others (cf. Jn
15:12-13). In this sense, true solidarity — though it begins with an
acknowledgment of the equal worth of the other — comes to
fulfilment only when I willingly place my life at the service of the
other (cf. Eph 6:21). Herein lies the "vertical" dimension of
solidarity: I am moved to make myself less than the other so as
to minister to his or her needs (cf. Jn 13:14-15), just as Jesus
"humbled himself" so as to give men and women a share in his divine life
with the Father and the Spirit (cf. Phil 2:8; Mt 23:12,).
Similarly, subsidiarity
— insofar as it encourages men and women to enter freely into
life-giving relationships with those to whom they are most closely
connected and upon whom they most immediately depend, and demands of
higher authorities respect for these relationships — manifests a
"vertical" dimension pointing towards the Creator of the social order
(cf. Rom 12:16, 18).
A society that honours
the principle of subsidiarity liberates people from a sense of
despondency and hopelessness, granting them the freedom to engage with
one another in the spheres of commerce, politics and culture (cf.
Quadragesimo Anno, n. 80).
When those responsible
for the public good attune themselves to the natural human desire for
self-governance based on subsidiarity, they leave space for individual
responsibility and initiative, but most importantly, they leave space
for love (cf. Rom 13:8; Deus Caritas Est, n. 28), which
always remains "the most excellent way" (cf. I Cor 12:31).
In revealing the
Father's love, Jesus has taught us not only how to live as brothers and
sisters here on earth; he has shown us that he himself is the way to
perfect communion with one another and with God in the world to come,
since it is through him that "we have access in one Spirit to the
Father" (cf. Eph 2:18).
As you strive to
articulate the ways in which men and women can best promote the common
good, I encourage you to survey both the "vertical" and "horizontal"
dimensions of solidarity and subsidiarity. In this way, you will be able
to propose more effective ways of resolving the manifold problems
besetting mankind at the threshold of the third millennium, while also
bearing witness to the primacy of love, which transcends and fulfils
justice as it draws mankind into the very life of God (cf.
Message for the 2004 World Day of Peace).
With these sentiments, I
assure you of my prayers, and I cordially extend my Apostolic Blessing
to you and your loved ones as a pledge of peace and joy in the Risen
Lord.
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