the right to food (RN #4, 10) the right to shelter and private property (RN #5) the right to a just and living wage (RN #34, LE #19) the right to life and a worthy standard of living (PT #11) the rights of workers to form unions (RN #38); the right to assemble and form associations (QA #23) the right to development (JM #15) the right to moral and cultural values (PT #12-13) the right to worship according to one’s conscience (PT #14); the right to religious freedom (DH #13) the right to freely choose one’s state of life and establish a family (PT #15-17, RN #9) the right to emigrate and immigrate (PT #25) the right to rest (LE #19) the right to a work that is not harmful to one’s conscience or personal dignity (LE #15) the right to appropriate subsidies for unemployed workers and their families (LE #18) the right to a pension in old age, sickness or injury (LE #19) the right to social security connected with maternity (LE #19) the right to freedom of expression and thought (JM #44)

Two Key Understandings The word ‘subsidiarity’ comes from the Latin word for help (subsidium). The principle relies on two central understandings which provide the conditions necessary to achieve public order and promote the common good. 1.The human person and family must come before the nation or government. Human persons are born into families and into a fabric of relationships. The family is the foundation of the church and the basic unit of society. Institutions only exist to serve human needs and interests by working for the common good. 2.Decision-making should not be concentrated in the hands of a few but be dispersed as widely as possible and be exercised by the most appropriate group of people, as close to the local level as is reasonable. The role of the State is to promote the wellbeing of all people in a country by promoting economic prosperity, equality of opportunity and social equity.

Picture credits Slide 2: Erin Johnson/room3 Slide 3: Education for Justice (Caritas USA) Find out more Last updated April 2014