10-25-2011, 09:38 PM
Black Tea wrote:
[quote=Grace62]
Here's a conservative, Republican Catholic suggesting that the Tea Party adopt "subsidiarity" as part of its manifesto....You know what? If they did that, and showed genuine understanding of what that term means, including the social justice factors involved (this particular writer demonstrates no such understanding), well I might just be able to take them seriously.
http://www.catholic.org/politics/story.php?id=38763
Grace, if you actually sit down and read Caritas in Veritate, you might find all kinds of social justice things you like.
Some Catholic blogger is not speaking for the Church.
I'm not disagreeing with what the church officially says on the issue. I'm disagreeing with the way right wingers in the US have tried to co-opt the issue into an excuse for dismantling government. When you hear, for example, Michele Bachmann call for the dismantling of the EPA, some might say "that's a local issue, business will police itself and do the right thing."
Well you know what, it's not a local matter and business will frequently not do the right thing if it cuts into the bottom line. We all breath the air and drink the water and live on this planet - there is a need for common good there that requires a big picture approach.
Some parts of our country are very poor and need help from the rest of us, others are wealthier and can afford to help. That requires the big picture.
Subsidiarity at its core acknowledges all of this - the aim is the common good. That does work on the local level much of the time, but not always. We need moderation so that things can be just, in balance if you will, and that is, to me, what the church is calling for.