Giorgi baRaTuria

F. Gabriele Bragantini
The Catholic Church and Today’s World Economic Crisis
Summary
The current world economic crisis questions even the Roman Catholic Church at various levels, above all at two levels: first at the level of observation, reflection and declaration, regarding what has happened and what is happening in the world, facing it with the principles of the social doctrine of the Church. Secondly is the level of the concrete initiatives undertaken to solve the problems raised in an even stronger and evident way by this crisis.
Regarding this cultural patrimony two principles are presented; the one of subsidisation and that of solidarity. These are two points of positive reflection on the actual situation of crisis.
The Principle of Subsidisation. The principle of subsidisation is one of the supporting planks of the social doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, even though it has been assumed even in the office for elaboration of the juridical normative (Maestricht on European Union). It is based on the experience of man as a ‘rational and social animal’ in his knowledge of self, in reaching out to others, in ‘associating oneself’ to give life to a society. In this respect man discovers himself as being ‘not self-sufficient’, to realise his objectives, hence in need of the help of others, from those closest to him (family, country...) to those furthest (the world). At the moment of self-organisation in society, intermediate organisations of different character are born; religious, political, cultural, recreational, professional... This can be described as a structure of concentric circles, at whose centre is the human person with his liberty. The movement is from ‘personal’ to ‘universal’. On the contrary it is from ‘universal’ to ‘particular’, for example, in the social field, this can not but lead to evolution of a totalitarian state of society, which is detriment to the freedom and responsibility of the individual in the society.
The principle of Solidarity, Next to the principle of subsidisation, in order not to make absolute some aspects of the personal life of man and to better delineate the concept of ‘common good’, the Church, in her social doctrine, proposes also the principle of solidarity. A realistic vision founded on the principle of solidarity shows how necessary such an aspect is with regards to the near or local situation of need, in order to regain a human dimension of existence, in accordance with the end and nature of the life of citizens.
These two principles, together with promotion of the intermediate bodies, can help build a society ‘of human capacity’, with its social fabric in which man can satisfy the real necessities of his personality.
The crisis could be an occasion of discernment and of new planning for an alternative economy, geared to the common good, for the service of the person and not against the person.
Keywords: The social doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church; the principle of subsidisation; the principle of solidarity; the human person; the 'commom good'; the structure of concentric circles; the alternative economy; the freedom and responsibility of the person in the society.