Core Principles of Catholic Social Doctrine
The Principle of Subsidiarity and Its Characteristics
The **principle of subsidiarity** is one of the fundamental principles of the **Social Doctrine of the Church**. It teaches that higher authorities must help lower groups when necessary, but they must not replace or absorb their functions.
The State should intervene only when individuals, families, or intermediate groups are unable to solve problems by themselves; once these groups recover their autonomy, public authority must withdraw. Subsidiarity protects freedom, responsibility, and social initiative. It regulates the relationship between the **horizontal dimension** of society and the **vertical dimension** formed by public authority and the State.
The principle formally appeared for the first time in Quadragesimo Anno (1931) by Pope Pius XI.
Defining the Common Good and Its Core Features
The **common good** is the set of social conditions that allow persons, families, and associations to achieve their fulfillment more fully and easily. The common good does not refer to the interests of one group or to the sum of individual interests, but to the welfare of society as a whole.
It has a vertical dimension related to political authority and a horizontal dimension related to individuals and intermediate groups. The common good also has national and international demands, including:
- Employment and justice
- Social balance
- Cooperation between nations
- Protection of future generations
These concepts are further elaborated in Gaudium et Spes.
The Organic Conception of Society
The **Social Doctrine of the Church** conceives society as a **coordinated social body** in which every person and group has its own role, rights, and duties. Society is not a mere aggregation of isolated individuals, but a structured reality oriented toward the common good.
Human beings naturally create associations and intermediate bodies such as families, schools, unions, and cultural organizations. These groups enrich society, protect freedom, and contribute to the common good, as emphasized in Pacem in Terris.
The Principle of Active Social Participation
The **principle of participation** teaches that every person has the right and duty to participate actively in social life. Participation derives from human dignity and natural rights, including economic, cultural, social, and political life.
The principle includes participation in:
- Wealth and work
- Culture
- Public life
Participation protects freedom, responsibility, and social integration while preventing exclusion and passivity.
The Function and Role of Social Justice
The **principle of social justice** seeks to establish the social conditions that allow persons and groups to obtain what is due to them according to their dignity and vocation. Social justice aims to organize society fairly, protect human rights, and correct unjust situations.
The Social Doctrine of the Church distinguishes between:
- Justice as action: Concrete fair acts.
- Justice as quality: The moral virtue of acting fairly and giving each person what is due.