Why is the Catholic Church involved in politics at all? What does the Church as a religious institution have to do with politics? Shouldn’t it rather take care of its own problems? At least that’s what one often hears today when dealing with politics from a Catholic perspective. But are these assertions true?
Since we as human beings need the Church, the bride of Christ, in order to get to heaven, the Church must of course also deal with our earthly actions. The Church gives us rules, guidelines, and principles on how to behave here on earth. On the one hand, the Church gives guidance in the area that primarily concerns us as individuals, such as through the commandments, the sacraments, etc. On the other hand, the Church’s teaches about the public, communal area, such as politics, economics, and culture, since humans are social by nature. We are communal beings and live together with other people.
This also mentions an important requirement for the existence of Catholic social teaching. For contrary to the widespread view today, which stems from the Enlightenment, religion is not a private matter. It is very much part of public life. Even more: in order for us to be able to think about a Catholic state at all, we must realize the following: There must be no separation of church and state, as is also claimed today. There is certainly a distinction between them. There are independent spheres for each. But the state is not entirely independent of the church.
No separation of church and state
Pope Leo XIII illustrates the ideal relationship between church and state with the relationship between soul and body (Immortale Dei, 1885). For many centuries in Europe, there was no separation of church and state, but rather a close cooperation, which also led to conflicts or disputes from time to time. But above it led all to a cultural blossoming, especially in the High Middle Ages.
But throughout the last five centuries, there have been massive shifts in Western societies, which led to the decline of the Catholic social order. In the wake of the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire, the French Revolution, industrialization and its social consequences, Catholic scholars formulated the Catholic social teaching in the 19th century.
Reading social encyclicals
The basis of Catholic social teaching is the numerous ancient and Christian works on human coexistence in all its aspects, especially by Aristotle, St. Augustine, and St. Thomas Aquinas. A key element is also the classical natural law. The cornerstones around which Catholic social teaching is built, in theory and practice. are the papal social encyclicals such as Libertas praestantissimum (1888) and Rerum novarum (1891) by Leo XIII and Quadragesimo anno (1931) by Pius XI.
In the following, three central principles, which belong to the foundation of Catholic social teaching, will be briefly explained. These principles complement each other and are to be applied to politics, economy, culture, and society.
Common good
The common good (bonum commune) is the goal of a community, according to which the members of this community orient their actions. The common good and the community are mutually dependent in their existence. The goal must be good in itself and common to all members. Moreover, the goal is determined by the nature of man. This already shows the necessity of an authority that secures the goal of the respective community: the father of the family, the head of the company, an officer, a parish priest, and the head of state. The last and highest authority, however, is God (Romans 13:1).
Subsidiarity
The second important social ethical principle is subsidiarity. This principle originates from the cardinal virtue of justice (suum cuique). It states that every community and the persons organized in it have tasks that are inherently theirs. Thus subsidiarity establishes the right to fulfill these tasks independently and on their own responsibility. The institution or person higher in the social hierarchy may intervene only in the case or to the extent that this own task cannot be fulfilled.
A classic example of application is the relationship between the state and the family. The state must enable the family to live independently, for example in financial terms. But above all in the upbringing of children. The state may only intervene in the form of substitute assistance, i.e. if the family’s own strength is no longer sufficient. However, the principle of subsidiarity does not only work from the bottom up: The lower form of community is also obligated to help the higher one.
Solidarity
Here the third principle, solidarity, comes to the fore. It describes the common working of persons and communities towards the common good. This process is regulated and secured by an authority or its law. The special feature of the principle of solidarity is the simultaneous consideration and emphasis of the personal nature and the social nature of man. The community is more than just the sum of its members. But individuals form the substance of the community and must be protected in their autonomy.
At the same time, individual welfare can only be realized in community. Individuals and communities form a natural unity. If either pole is overemphasized, both individuals and community suffer and, in the worst case, are destroyed. This excludes all individualistic as well as collectivistic social systems.
Especially today, when Western societies are drifting apart and do not seem to have a deep cohesion anymore, it is worth it to study the Catholic social teaching. Especially these three principles can be of help to build any form of community, which should inhere in a true Catholic spirit.