Q. What is the principle of subsidiarity?
A. Good question. It is a principle that states that a community of a higher order should not assume the task(s) belonging to a community of a lower order and deprive it of its authority.
That is, it means that decisions should be made at the lowest level of competency, usually on the local level. For example, you do not need to call out the 101st Airborne for a very small grass fire. Just call the local fire department.
The principle of subsidiarity is the understanding that the human person and the family precede the state, and that in civil society higher governing bodies should intervene in decision-making on a local level only to preserve the common good (1 Corinthians 12: 12- 31).
Thus, the principle of subsidiarity means that a higher governing body ordinarily should not interfere in decision-making, which is best handled by lower jurisdictions.
Recent popes have addressed this principle in encyclicals: St. Pope John XXIII Pacem in Terris 77, Pope Benedict XVI , Caritatis in Veritate and YouCat 323.
Pope Francis speaks of subsidiarity often. Catholic News Agency reported on his Sept. 23 reflection on subsidiarity. The remarks were part of his series of weekly catecheses, launched in August, on Catholic social teaching. Entitled “Healing the World,” the pope’s message at his Wednesday audiences focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic in light of Church teaching.
“To emerge better from a crisis, the principle of subsidiarity must be enacted, respecting the autonomy and the capacity to take initiative that everyone has, especially the least,” Pope Francis said.
