Subsidiarity | What You Need to Know
The social teaching of the Church is based on the human person as the principle, subject and object of every social organization. Subsidiarity is one of the core principles of this teaching. This principle holds that human affairs are best handled at the lowest possible level, closest to the affected pesons.
It is easiest to begin with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which enunciates the principle of subsidiarity in the context of man's social nature. When the principle of subsidiarity is ignored, governments often overstep their bounds in managing matters best handled on a more local or individual level. Typically this decreases economy, efficiency, liberty and the personal character of the social order.An explanation of the importance of subsidiarity in balancing governmental policies can be found in a fine overview of Catholic social teaching by Christopher Kaczor, Ph.D. The link below leads directly to Part V, but the other parts summarize other aspects of the Church's social doctrine equally well.Part IV of Chapter Four of the The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church provides a more thorough theoretical exploration of the principle of subsidiarity. The Compendium is also an official ecclesiastical source for the full range of Catholic social teaching.
