{"id":28465,"date":"2019-04-15T23:58:45","date_gmt":"2019-04-15T23:58:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/capp.mystagingwebsite.com\/?page_id=28465"},"modified":"2026-08-18T23:20:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T23:20:25","slug":"subsidiarity","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/5.capp-usa.org\/es\/subsidiarity\/","title":{"rendered":"Subsidiarity"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Join our Newsletter<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Subsidiarity<\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Solve Problems Where They Arise<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

Closely Linked to Solidarity<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

There are Tasks
Proper to the State<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

Empowers Individuals<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Necessary for a Stable Social Order<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

Demands a Full Exercise of Sovereignty<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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A Cornerstone Principle of Catholic Social Teaching<\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

\u201cSubsidiarity is among the most constant and characteristic directives of the Church\u2019s social doctrine and has been present since the first great social encyclical [Rerum Novarum]\u201d (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 185)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The State should undertake only those tasks which are beyond the capacity of individuals or private groups acting independently.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

What is the Definition of Subsidiarity?<\/span><\/h4>\n

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Decisions in society need to be made at the lowest competent level.<\/h5>\n
Problems are best solved at the level where they arise \u2013 if possible.<\/h5>\n
Any activity that can be efficaciously performed by a more decentralized entity \u2013 should be<\/strong>.<\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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Subsidiarity Articles<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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\"Amid<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Subsidiarity Guards Against Tyranny<\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

\"It is a fundamental principle of social philosophy, fixed and unchangeable, that one should not withdraw from individuals and commit to the community what they can accomplish by their own enterprise and industry. So, too, it is an injustice and at the same time a\u200b \u200bgrave evil and a disturbance of right order to transfer to the\u00a0larger and higher collectivity functions which can be performed and provided for by the lesser and subordinate bodies\". (Pope Pius XI, 79)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\"No actual or established power has the right to deprive peoples of the full exercise of their sovereignty.\"\u00a0(Pope Francis, 3.2)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

Read More<\/h3>

It is by recognizing \u200bsubsidiarity<\/em> that the state is, itself, justified: i.e., \"will more freely, powerfully, and effectively do all those things that belong to it alone because it alone can do them\". Subsidiarity, properly understood, both justifies and sets limits on the activities of the state.\u00a0(Pope Pius XI, 80)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Individuals and groups have the right to go their own way, even though they may sometimes make mistakes. In full respect for that freedom, civil society is called to help each person and social organization to take up its specific role and thus contribute to the common good.\"\u00a0(Pope Francis)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Why Must Decisions be Handled at the Lowest Level?<\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

Subsidiarity ensures society is organized towards its proper ends. \u201cNot only is it wrong from the ethical point of view to disregard human nature, which is made for freedom, but in practice it is impossible to do so. Where society is so organized as to reduce arbitrarily or even suppress the sphere in which freedom is legitimately exercised, the result is that the life of society becomes progressively disorganized and goes into decline.\u201d (Pope St. John Paul II, 25)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Pope St. John Paul II pointed out\u00a0subsidiarity is critical because it \u201cinsists on necessary limits to the State\u2019s intervention\u2026inasmuch as the individual, the family and society are prior to the state and inasmuch as the State exists in order to protect their rights and not stifle them\u201d.\u00a0(Centesimus Annus,\u00a011)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not need a State which regulates and controls everything, but a State which, in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity, generously acknowledges and supports initiatives arising from different social forces and combines spontaneity with closeness to those in need.\u201d (Pope Benedict XVI, 28)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\"Subsidiarity,<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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\"Subsidiarity,<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Why Must Decisions be Handled at the Lowest Level?<\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

Subsidiarity ensures society is organized towards its proper ends. \u201cNot only is it wrong from the ethical point of view to disregard human nature, which is made for freedom, but in practice it is impossible to do so. Where society is so organized as to reduce arbitrarily or even suppress the sphere in which freedom is legitimately exercised, the result is that the life of society becomes progressively disorganized and goes into decline.\u201d (Pope St. John Paul II, 25)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Pope St. John Paul II pointed out\u00a0subsidiarity is critical because it \u201cinsists on necessary limits to the State\u2019s intervention\u2026inasmuch as the individual, the family and society are prior to the state and inasmuch as the State exists in order to protect their rights and not stifle them\u201d.\u00a0(Centesimus Annus,\u00a011)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not need a State which regulates and controls everything, but a State which, in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity, generously acknowledges and supports initiatives arising from different social forces and combines spontaneity with closeness to those in need.\u201d (Pope Benedict XVI, 28)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\"Subsidiarity<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Why is Subsidiarity Important?<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

The principle of subsidiarity lies at the heart of a stable social order by fostering the personal responsibility that naturally accompanies individual liberty - ensuring that personal interest is not placed in opposition to societal interests - and by seeking to bring individual desires and the demands of the common good into fruitful harmony.<\/span><\/p>\n

Subsidiarity is a prescriptive principle in that it informs us how decision-making should be delegated among social groups - in order to allow for authentic freedom and human dignity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Subsidiarity \u201cis always designed to achieve\u2026emancipation because it fosters freedom and participation through assumption of responsibility. Subsidiarity respects personal dignity\u201d<\/span>. (Pope Benedict XVI, 57)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Warnings<\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

The Church has consistently cautioned against neglecting subsidiarity.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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