WHAT IS SUBSIDIARITY?

Subsidiarity is one of the pillars of Catholic social doctrine and is deemed a foundational and permanent principle.  In the interest of human dignity and freedom, subsidiarity holds that decision-making and conflict resolution be accomplished at the most basic, appropriate level of authority. It serves as a warning against imperious top-down interference by the state in local, personal and family matters. "The principle of subsidiarity is opposed to all forms of collectivism...." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, # 1885)

2.

WHY IS SOCIALISM DESTRUCTIVE?

Socialism, or collectivism, is incompatible with Catholic teaching because it ultimately aims to eliminate God, freedom, private property and natural human imperfection and inequality by imposing an all-powerful government.  Materialistic and atheistic at its core, socialism urges rejection of the concept of immortality and, instead, envisions an earthly utopia.  Under socialism, the individual exists to serve the state, not the other way around.  Socialist totalitarian governments around the world killed 100 million people in the 20th century.  

3.

 WHY DOES CAT OPPOSE SOCIAL JUSTICE MOVEMENTS?

CAT objects to the corruption of the social justice concept by collectivists on the political left who use it to cloak their true agenda: the unlimited growth and power of government at the expense of the individual.  In social justice activism, Catholic social doctrine has been twisted and employed tendentiously and selectively to serve the Left's political ends.  Most of today's social justice movements are less about true justice than about advancing the agenda of global socialism.

4.

WHAT IS COMMUNITY ORGANIZING AND WHY IS IT HARMFUL? * 

Community organizing (CO) is a system of social management techniques popularized by radical atheist Saul Alinsky (and esteemed by Marxist sympathizers) for supposedly redistributing power from the haves to the have nots. In CO, professional agitators prey on human weakness, creating a unified climate of dissatisfaction and victimhood which they then exploit, stirring up anger, resentment and class hatred. Since CO results in undirected economic destabilization, it is especially devastating to the poor. In the United States, CO helped trigger the recent financial and housing crisis and has long been a linchpin in perpetuating the welfare state.

 * This addresses the specific form of community organizing developed by Saul Alinsky.

5.

WHY DOES CAT OBJECT TO THE ANNUAL COLLECTION FOR THE CATHOLIC CAMPAIGN FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT (CCHD)?

Although it can claim some limited success in helping relieve poverty, CCHD has a long history of involvement and affiliation with community organizing and radical left-wing politics.  Over the years, millions of dollars donated to CCHD in good faith by Catholics have been diverted to organizations and programs that enable the abortion industry and activities that not only undermine Church teaching but create and exacerbate poverty.