What's "reciprocal subsidiarity"?
Upvote:2
The principle of subsidiarity is restated from earlier documents in the Catechism:
1883. ... 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."7
7 Centesimus annus 48 §4; cf. Pius X Quadragesimo anno I, 184–186
Reciprocal subsidiarity is — on the face of it — meaningless. While subsidiarity is asserting the independence of a lower order against the interference of a higher order, that higher order is immune to the lower order's interference simply by virtue of being the higher order.
But subsidiarity is not just protection from interference. It is the support and co-ordination of activities with the rest of society, always with a view to the common good. Subsidiarity commonly means that the government should guide lower communities to work together to the common good.
It is this which can be reciprocal. Governments should listen to their communities to understand what the common good actually is. Building a nation is not pure imposition (which directly goes against subsidiarity) or guiding/defining boundaries which allow local determination but which does not further the common good, pitting local governments against each other and the State*. The common good is the good of all. Everyone has to put themselves at the service of others, within their own sphere of responsibility.
The Pope was addressing both Houses of the Legislature in what is arguably the most powerful country in the world. He was saying that for a government to be a good government, it has to allow itself to be guided by its people in order that it can do as it must and serve the good of the people.
*State here means the top level of government: Federal in the US, Parliament in the UK, etc.
More post
- 📝 When did the practice of Confession in the Catholic Church begin?
- 📝 Why was Jeremiah called the "weeping prophet"
- 📝 Jesus's genealogy: 28 generations or 41 since David?
- 📝 What prophesies are people alluding to when they say "look at the Middle East"?
- 📝 Are we saved by grace or works?
- 📝 Can I be baptized as a non-Catholic Christian if I was baptized as a Catholic when I was little?
- 📝 Was "No prophet ever came out of Galilee" sarcastic?
- 📝 What is the standard term for views that aren't Unitarian?
- 📝 According to soul sleep advocates, did the Apostle Paul ever abandon his Pharisaic beliefs about the afterlife after becoming a Christian?
- 📝 Does God feel and appreciate the resiliency of our suffering?
- 📝 What made Luther a heretic and not a schismatic?
- 📝 Is Partialism a real heresy?
- 📝 Why did Jesus favor Peter, James and John more than the other disciples?
- 📝 Are there any bundles of subsets of the New Testament that are common?
- 📝 Why do Seventh Day Adventists change the moral law using the ceremonial law?
- 📝 Does the Roman Catholic Church embrace theistic evolution?
- 📝 What arguments do scholars present for historicity of the fall?
- 📝 Why do we say "My Jesus" and then "Our Father"?
- 📝 How do indulgences remit temporal punishment?
- 📝 Does God will the diversity of religion?
- 📝 Who first came up with the "four attributes of Scripture"?
- 📝 Is Mary omniscient (by participation, not by nature)?
- 📝 Is the 'Jazz Mass' still able to be celebrated?
- 📝 If Catholics have to be open to new life how can they practice Natural Family Planning?
- 📝 How do Swedenborgians understand Jesus' words on marriage in the resurrection in Matthew 22:30?
- 📝 Which denominations follow "queer theology"?
- 📝 Is there any substance to the claim that Origen supported reincarnation?
- 📝 What are the conditions for removing excommunication of a married priest?
- 📝 Keep the law OR nail to the cross?
- 📝 How were the Vatican I and Vatican II councils related?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for the doctrine of the Trinity?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for the claim that abortion is immoral?
- 📝 How were people saved prior to 33 AD?
- 📝 Why do some Christians believe it is moral to be a h*m*sexual?
- 📝 Can there be free will in heaven?
- 📝 Can I believe in evolution and still be a Christian?
- 📝 When the Bible talks about wine does it mean alcoholic wine?
- 📝 What major translations of the Bible are in the Public Domain?
- 📝 What happens to people who have never heard about Jesus?
- 📝 How is Christ's death so significant?
- 📝 Why didn't C.S. Lewis convert to Catholicism?
- 📝 Does Jesus ever claim to be God, or the son of God?
- 📝 Why does Judaism celebrate Sabbath on Saturday and most Christians celebrate Sabbath on Sunday?
- 📝 Praying to people outside the Trinity
- 📝 The Bible seems to allow polygamy. Why doesn't the church?
- 📝 Will suicide keep me out of Heaven?
- 📝 What is the basis for saying Christians and Muslims worship the same God?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis to claim that masturbation is a sin?
- 📝 Why is Christianity considered a monotheistic religion?
- 📝 Atheism is the default position. Isn't the burden of proof on the Christian to assert that God exists?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for the concept that Jesus spent time in Hell?
- 📝 How do young earth creationists reconcile the age of the universe with the speed of light, and visible distant objects?
- 📝 Why don't many churches obey Paul's command that women must be silent in church?
- 📝 How to answer "Why do evil and suffering exist?"
- 📝 Was baptism practiced before Christ?
- 📝 Is saying "Oh My God" really using God's name in vain?
- 📝 How did all the animals fit into Noah's ark?
- 📝 If Adam and Eve were perfect, why did they choose to sin?
- 📝 Where does the concept of a "God-shaped hole" originate?
- 📝 What is the biblical justification for permitting female pastors?