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Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “How can solidarity and subsidiarity work together in the pursuit of the common good in a way that not only respects human dignity, but also allows it to flourish?” This is the central question of the 14th Plenary Session of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences taking place at the Vatican (May 2-6), with the theme: “Pursuing the Common Good: How Solidarity and Subsidiarity Can Work Together,” and that has been revisited by the Holy Father Benedict XVI in his audience with the participants of the Plenary, on May 3.
In an attentive examination of the meaning of terms, one can see that “the human dignity is the intrinsic value of a person created in the image and likeness of God and redeemed by Christ,” the Pope explained. “The totality of social conditions allowing persons to achieve their communal and individual fulfillment 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.” These definitions,” the Pope said, “are adequately grasped only when linked organically to one another and seen as mutually supportive of one another.”
“The solidarity that binds the human family, and the subsidiary levels reinforcing it from within,” Benedict XVI affirmed, “must however always be placed within the horizon of the mysterious life of the Triune God, in whom we perceive an ineffable love shared by equal, though nonetheless distinct, Persons.” Thus, “the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity are undoubtedly enriched by our belief in the Trinity, but especially in the sense that these principles have the potential to place men and women on the path to discovering their definitive, supernatural destiny... 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 eternal life to which God has called every man and woman.”
Examining the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity at the light of the Gospel, the Holy Father pointed out that they are not merely “horizontal.” Rather, they both have an essentially vertical dimension: “Jesus commands us to do unto others as we would have them do unto us ; to love our neighbor as ourselves...In this sense, true solidarity, though it begins with an acknowledgment of the equal worth of the other, comes to fulfillment only when I willingly place my life at the service of the other. 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... 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 toward the Creator of the social order... 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, which always remains 'the most excellent way.’ 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.” Concluding his address, the Pontiff encouraged all “to survey both the 'vertical' and 'horizontal' dimensions of solidarity and subsidiarity,” in order to “propose more effective ways of resolving the manifold problems besetting mankind at the threshold of the third millennium.” (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 5/5/2008; righe 49, parole 638)
