29 / 61
20
48. The principle of subsidiarity reminds us that larger institutions in society
should not overwhelm or interfere with smaller or local institutions, yet larger
institutions have essential responsibilities when the more local institutions
cannot adequately protect human dignity, meet human needs, and advance
the common good (
Centesimus Annus
, no. 48;
Dignitatis Humanae
, nos. 4-6).
The Common Good
The common good indicates “the sum total of social conditions which allow people,
either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfilment more fully and more
easily” (
Gaudium et Spes
, no. 26). . . . The common good, in fact, can be under-
stood as the social and community dimension of the moral good.
(
Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church
, no. 164)
49. Human dignity is respected and the common good is fostered only if
human rights are protected and basic responsibilities
are met. Every human
being has a right to life, the fundamental right that makes all other rights
possible, and a right to access those things required for human decency—food
and shelter, education and employment, health care and housing, freedom of
religion and family life. The right to exercise religious freedom publicly and
privately by individuals and institutions along with freedom of conscience
need to be constantly defended. In a fundamental way, the right to free
expression of religious beliefs protects all other rights. Corresponding to these
rights are duties and responsibilities—to one another, to our families, and to
the larger society. Rights should be understood and exercised in a moral frame-
work rooted in the dignity of the human person.
50. The economy must serve people, not the other way around. It is therefore
necessary that an economic system serve the dignity of the human person
and the common good by respecting the
dignity of work
and protecting the
rights of workers
. A “growth in justice,” according to Pope Francis in
Evan-
gelii Gaudium
,
requires more than economic growth, while presupposing
such growth: it requires decisions, programs, mechanisms
and processes specifically geared to a better distribution