Subsidiarity Analysis

Though the decision to separate Church and State has been instituted since the beginning of the nation, it is our job as Catholics to bring our Christian morals and ideals into our decision making when governing the United States. Since the beginning of our faith life, Catholics are taught that everyone is instilled with human rights and dignity, and that anything that would possibly compromise someone's dignity is a direct threat to justice. It is a duty for us to strive for justice for not only for ourselves, but for the people that cannot fight for themselves. The poor deserve a voice, and we are responsible for the voiceless. With this being said, we, like Cain, ask God "Am I my brother's keeper" (Genesis 4:9)? The answer to this is
a simple yes. In the book of Matthew, Jesus talks about judgement day and how one's life will be assessed to decide whether or not they are admitted into eternal life: "And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me’ (Matthew 25:40)". A.
In order to fulfill our duty to the poor as Catholics, we need to respect and understand the importance of the three concepts of Subsidiarity, An Option for the Poor, and Human Dignity. Subsidiarity is a principle that calls smaller, more localized governing factors to be the primary factor in decision making when it comes to the poor and vulnerable. The main idea is to have larger powers and forms of government only intervene when in need of more competent authority and if absolutely necessary; Keeping a small, localized, family-oriented outlook would help to provide the most assistance to the poor and marginalized, therefore proving to be more impactful and effective. As one of the Four Principles of Catholic Social Teaching, Subsidiarity is one of the essential elements of our faith and beliefs. It is not to be taken as an option in the 'belief buffet'; If one is a true and practicing member of the Catholic faith, then this is a belief they hold. Another Principle of Catholic Social teaching that is necessary for helping the poor and vulnerable is Human Dignity. Human Dignity is a God-given right to love, respect, and equity that is instilled within all of us when our lives first begin. This is due to the fact that we are all created in the image and likeness of God, so by nature, we should all be able to revel in the gifts and virtues that God has bestowed on this earth. Though it is inalienable and thus cannot be destroyed or taken away, a person's Human Dignity
can still be compromised and exploited. Human Life is seen as sacred, and because of such, it is our moral duty to protect it. Another Principle of Catholic Social Teaching that reflects our call to protect human life and dignity is the Preferential Option for the Poor and Vulnerable. The Option for the Poor and Vulnerable ensures that those that are weak and generally overlooked by society get priority service and love by the Church and it's members. It demonstrates the teaching that "the last will be first, and the first will be last", which further emphasizes Jesus's love and empathy towards the marginalized people of the world (Matthew 20:16). Solidarity is the right and conviction of achieving the common good for all people. The basic premise of Solidarity is recognizing everyone's Human Rights and Dignity and striving for the rest of the world to recognize this, so that everyone can live freely as equals, as God intended for us to do. Furthermore, Solidarity is the focal point of justice and peace because it calls us to view ourselves and all others as completely equal beings of light and love. With that being said, we cannot have Subsidiarity without Solidarity and vice versa. If we do not view each other as equals, then our attempt at Subsidiarity would result in a seemly demeaning act of pity. Keeping this in mind, when foreign and domestic social and economic development programs are created, local programs, organizations, and churches need to have maximum involvement, and on an executive scale so that they can regulate the aid and provide direct assistance to those who need it the most. Not only does this concept apply to large scale crisis, but it also applies to everyday acts that contribute to justice and the common good. When volunteering or aiding others, our actions should not be practiced out of spite or pity, we should recognize them as acts to strive for the social and economic justice and peace for all people. Human Dignity is, as stated before, the God-given right to love,respect, and equity that we are born with. As it is understood, no one can be stripped of their Human Dignity because it is inherent, inviolable, and inalienable. We are born with it, thus no one has the right to violate it, nor do they have the power to take it away. Although people may think that someone has done something to strip away their dignity, this is simply impossible. Human Dignity is not reliant on how one feels about themselves or others, rather it is reliant on the fact that we are made in the image and likeness of God, therefore our human nature demands and pleads for the respect and love that we have every right to. We may think so, but Human Dignity is not compliant to the relative situation or any situation, being as we have no control over it. Even though we all have Human Dignity, it is not always well displayed. Our Human Dignity is revealed and shown through the recognition and viewing of the Human Dignity within others. "The beginning of morality is to respect every human being, even if he or she lacks self-respect". B) All three concepts of Subsidiarity, Options for the Poor, and Human Dignity are centralized on the premise of assisting the poor and vulnerable in attempt to achieve social and economic justice for all people. They are all Principles of Catholic Social Teaching that involve prioritizing the marginalized and making sure that the voiceless have a voice through the Church. Because of this, all three of these principles highlight our call to responsibility for the common good of God's children. This call is one to the Church as a whole, which means individuals, laypeople especially, are expected have a strong role in practicing all three of these within our community. We are expected to do such because it is not just another option for service, but the consummation of justice for all people was dubbed as our duty and responsibility at Baptism and the promise was renewed at Confirmation. In addition, Subsidiarity, Human Dignity, and a Preferential Option for the Poor and Vulnerable are all easy to practice and they do not require much money or take you away from your day to day life. All they ask is that you a knowledge the rights and dignity of others, recognize your equality, and strive to make that equality recognized in a world that determines people's self worth by superficial things such as money and outward appearance. C) These three Principles of Subsidiarity, Options for the Poor as Vulnerable, and Human Dignity are all the primitive basis of our beliefs as Catholics.
These Principles emphasize the Culture of Life that the Catholic Church, through the "seamless garment" mentality, tries to promote and protect. This is a contrast to our current society views and opinions that usually emphasize the Culture of Death and all of the evils that come with it. This shows through our growth and progression as a society, being as though the response to the call of action has gotten slower, and moral obligation is turning into moral option. We are progressively becoming far more selfish than selfless, and letting our greed and superficiality control our lives and far worse, our moral compass. In Morality, I learned that no one is completely independent, no matter how much they claim to be so. We are made in the image and likeness of God, therefore we inherited His social nature, thus interdependence is not only natural, but
welcomed. In addition, this growing culture of death is supplemented by the concept of division and class systems. We wouldn't need to tell people of Subsidiarity and an Option for the Poor and Vulnerable if there weren't institutions in place to create that "class" of people who actually keep these people poor and vulnerable. When we all have mutual self understanding of the fact that we are all equals who will treat one another as such, and that peace and justice can only be acquired through this realization, then we will know eternal peace in God's Kingdom.