November 15, 2026
Dear St. Rita Parishioners,
The Principle of Subsidiarity is often characterized as the government staying out of my business and my life as much as humanly possible. This is not false, but Pope Leo frames it in a way that moves beyond “leave me alone” and reminds us of what freedom is about: “If every woman and man is called to take ownership of his or her own life and to contribute to the formation of society, then social institutions must also respect and support this responsibility” (MH 68). Parents give children responsibility all the time, and if they don’t, the child never becomes who he is able and meant to be. He remains weak and incapable, because everything has been done for him. Just so, the state must create and give space and freedom to families and individuals in society to take responsibility for their role both in family life and society. Not to do so is to weaken both families and individuals.
The reverse, however, is also true. Individuals and families must understand that freedom is not given just so that we can do what we want, but that we might do what is good. If we shirk that responsibility and use our freedom poorly, then we will run into the arms of a comforting nanny state that is more than willing to keep us weak and incapable so that we have to surrender any real power and authority to them. And welcome to the modern world.
Pope Leo says that we must “move beyond any form of paternalistic or welfare-based management of societal life” (MH 70), which means, among other things, that politicians ought not to try to buy votes by providing things that are not only my right but my responsibility to achieve, accomplish, or obtain on my own. That’s a hard sell when there are unscrupulous folks out there who are attached to power and who are willing to buy it by offering comfort and license to sin. All of this reminds us of the necessity of a shared commitment to truth and goodness, which is only really possible if we believe rightly. Otherwise, our conceptions of truth and goodness are so disparate and at odds with each other that even the Principle of Subsidiarity itself is undermined.
The other reason that right belief is so important is that subsidiarity as a principle can be applied in varying ways. Who is to say when the State ought to step in for the sake of the good of its people? Right belief guides these decisions. One might try to call it subsidiarity to legalize abortion and leave the decision to the people themselves. Another might call it justified to expose children to certain kinds of unnatural sex “education” because parents have thrown away their responsibility to “properly” teach their kids (because, get with the times, people!, and stuff). Obviously, these examples are egregious breaches of right reason, judgment, and goodness itself. But, without a shared understanding of truth and goodness, we find ourselves having to have these arguments in modern society.
All of this is to say that the State does not exist for its own sake. It exists for your sake and mine, “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way” (1 Tim 2:2). And while we ourselves must be committed to living such a life, this does not mean that the State has no role and no authority. Law has a teaching role – both to restrain evil men and to guide good men (cf. Summa, I-II, Q. 98, a. 6) – and so the State ought to form its precepts well for the sake of its subjects. Indeed, this would be a part of “distributive justice”, the duties of the State towards its people for the sake of the common good. Thus law – and all State activity – must “enable all social actors to fulfill their mission without being stifled” (MH 69). Our mission, of course, is Charity – Love of God and neighbor.
Finally and importantly, Pope Leo takes the extra step to apply subsidiarity to the “de facto” power holders in everyday life: “major economic and technological actors” (MH 71). While the State strives to regulate such actors, and the State ought to do so for the sake of the common good, such actors also bear the weight of responsibility precisely because of the influence they have over our everyday lives. They have power, and so they have also the requisite responsibility, and it is good that we hold them accountable. That can be difficult when they have become necessary to the very State that should regulate them.
How is our Catch-22 resolved, then? Only by deep conversion to the One who can free us from slavery to money, power, and pleasure. His Name is Jesus Christ.
In Christ,
Fr. Christensen