{"id":50618,"date":"2024-04-03T21:37:30","date_gmt":"2024-04-03T21:37:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/5.capp-usa.org\/?p=50618"},"modified":"2026-07-28T16:50:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T16:50:16","slug":"what-is-solidarity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/5.capp-usa.org\/es\/2024\/04\/what-is-solidarity\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Solidarity?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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What is Solidarity?<\/span><\/h1>\n

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by CAPP-USA<\/span><\/h5>\n

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\"What<\/p>\n

Solidarity is a commitment to the common good and genuine gift of self to others.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Defining Solidarity<\/span><\/h2>\n


Solidarity \u201cis a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good\u201d. It is not \u201ca feeling<\/strong> of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of others.\u201d\u00a0(Pope St. John Paul II,\u00a038)<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, \u201call men and women are called to live as one, each taking care of the other\u201d. We are \u201cour brothers\u2019 keeper\u201d. (Pope Francis, 3)<\/a> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps solidarity was best defined by Jesus at the Last Supper: \u201cA new commandment I give to you,\u200b \u200bthat you love one another: just as I have loved you<\/strong>, you also are to love one another.\u201d (John 13:34)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This is a much more radical charge because, how does God love us? \u200bUnremittingly\u200b. It is no longer \u200blove our neighbor as our self\u200b but love our neighbor as God loves us\u200b.<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cWhat is needed is the willingness to \u201close ourselves\u201d for the sake of others\u201d.\u00a0(Pope Francis, 4)<\/em><\/a> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Solidarity Flows From Faith<\/span><\/h2>\n


Solidarity is not an ideological or political principle. It is a Catholic principle \u2013 based on and emanating from faith.<\/span><\/p>\n

Absent this truth, it is not the solidarity of Catholic social doctrine. \"Love of neighbor\u2026consists in the very fact that, in God and with God, I love even persons whom I do not like or even know.\" <\/span>(Pope Benedict XVI, 18)<\/a><\/p>\n

And Solidarity is for our \u200bown\u200b good and is a necessary component of our faith. \u201cLove of neighbor is a path that leads to the encounter with God, and that closing our eyes to our neighbor also blinds us to God.\u201d\u00a0(Pope Benedict XVI, 17)<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis can only take place on the basis of an intimate encounter with God<\/strong>\u201d.\u00a0(Pope Benedict XVI, 18)<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, \u201cTrue brotherhood among people presupposes and demands a transcendent Fatherhood\u201d since \u201ca fraternity devoid of reference to a common Father as its ultimate foundation is unable to endure.\u201d\u00a0(Pope Francis, 1)<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n

Solidarity and Governments<\/span><\/h2>\n


Solidarity is fundamental to the Christian view of social and political organization (Pope St. John Paul II, 38)<\/a> and \u201cconcern for our neighbor transcends the confines of national communities<\/strong> and has increasingly broadened its horizon to the whole world.\u201d (Pope Benedict XVI, 30)<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Why? \u201cPeace and prosperity<\/strong>, in fact, are goods which belong to the whole human race<\/strong>: it is not possible to enjoy them in a proper and lasting way if they are achieved and maintained at the cost of other peoples and nations.\u201d\u00a0(Pope St. John Paul II, 27)<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Church holds that \u201c\u2026the causes of underdevelopment are not primarily of the material order\u2026it is rather the weakening of brotherly ties between individuals and nations.\u201d\u00a0(Pope St. Paul VI, 66)<\/em><\/a> \u201cIn the last analysis, they are to be found in a current self-centeredness and materialistic way of thinking.\u201d\u00a0(Pope Benedict XVI)<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Solidarity, therefore, implies a dedication to the poor and disadvantaged through individual actions and collective initiatives to make social, political, and economic structures more just and fraternal. \u201c[I]t is a very important duty of the advanced nations to help the developing nations\u201d. (Gaudium et Spes, 86)<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In the end, <\/span>\u201cThe development of peoples depends, above all, on a recognition that the human race is a single family<\/strong> working together in true communion, not simply a group of subjects who happen to live side by side.\u201d\u00a0(Pope Benedict XVI, 53)<\/em><\/a> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Solidarity and Me<\/span><\/h2>\n


We must internalize how radical the principle of solidarity is: \u201cLet us say it once again: the capacity to suffer for the sake of the truth is the measure of humanity<\/strong>.\u201d (Pope Benedict XVI, 39)<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Solidarity is also part of our call to holiness<\/strong>: \u201clove of neighbor is a path that leads to the encounter with God, and that closing our eyes to our neighbor also blinds us to God.\u201d (Pope Benedict XVI, 16)<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Why? \u201c[B]ecause the love of God, once welcomed, becomes the most formidable means of transforming our lives and relationships with others, opening us to solidarity and to genuine sharing.\u201d (Pope Francis, 3)<\/a> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It is up to us to weave \u201ca fabric of fraternal relationships marked by reciprocity, forgiveness and complete self-giving, according to the breadth and the depth of the love of God offered to humanity in the One who, crucified and risen, draws all to himself\u201d. <\/span><\/span>(Pope Francis, 10)<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Solidarity Flows From Faith<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Love of Jesus<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Catholic Social Teaching and Sacrifice<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Practical Value of Solidarity and Subsidiarity<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Learn More About Solidarity<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
The Three Principles<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Back to Articles<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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\"Three<\/div>

Three Key Principles<\/a><\/h2>

Catholic social teaching is built on three foundational principles -\u00a0<\/strong>Human Dignity<\/strong>,\u00a0Solidarity\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Subsidiarity.\u00a0<\/strong>Human Dignity, embodied in a correct understanding of the human person, is the greatest. The others flow from it. Good governments and good economic systems find ways of fostering the three principles.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Human Dignity<\/a><\/h2>

This means a correct understanding of the human person and of each person\u2019s unique value. All Catholic social teaching flows from this: the inherent dignity of every person that comes from being made in God\u2019s image.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Solidarity<\/a><\/h2>

Solidarity is not \u201ca feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of others. It is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good\u201d. (Pope St. John Paul II, 38)<\/a> Love of God and love of neighbor are, in fact, linked and form one, single commandment.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Subsidiarity<\/a><\/h2>

Subsidiarity \u201cis 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 grave evil and a disturbance of right order to transfer to the larger and higher collectivity functions which can be performed and provided for by the lesser and subordinate bodies\u201d. (Pope Pius XI)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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