Holy See welcomes UN promotion of solidarity and subsidiarity

(February 6, 2009) The Holy See is welcoming a United Nations proposal that offers subsidiarity and solidarity as paths to foster social integration. Archbishop Celestino Migliore, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York, affirmed this on Thursday in an address to the U.N. Economic and Social Council, ECOSOC. "Social cohesion, as an expression of social justice,” he said, “is overall a condition that must be assured to all persons by reason of their lofty dignity." The archbishop noted that according to UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, “the absence of social integration, resulting in social exclusion, is pervasive in developing and developed regions alike and has common causes, namely poverty, inequality and discrimination at all levels. The recommended strategies aimed at promoting social integration stem from a framework "marked by the conviction that the logic of solidarity and subsidiarity is the most apt and instrumental to overcome poverty and ensure the participation of every person and social group at the social, economic, civil and cultural levels." Archbishop Migliore stressed that the "ultimate purpose and content of development programs is giving people the concrete possibility to shape their own lives and be protagonists of development," which is what the principle of subsidiarity is about. Archbishop Migliore insisted that by "living with and sharing the experiences" of the socially excluded "we can find means for more fully integrating them into the community, and, more importantly, affirming their dignity and worth so that they can truly become protagonists for their own development."