Oldal 42 [42]
1. INTRODUCTION
the ethic of respect for life and human dignity, for the rights of today’s
generations and those to come, prevails”.°””*
The Holy Father in his apostolic exhortation Laudate Deum no longer
speaks about “the future generation”, but about “the future of our children”.
This change in wording brings the need for change even closer.
“May those taking part in the Conference be strategists capable of
considering the common good and the future of their children, more than
the short-term interests of certain countries or businesses.??”
1.7. Secular and Ecclesiastical Perception of Subsidiarity
When examining the concept of the rights of nature, the principle of
subsidiarity deserves attention, as regulation appears at the level where it is
closest to the regulated circle. Its practical implementations are fine examples
of subsidiarity. Subsidiarity is now a general legal principle among the
constitutional provisions of the EU and has been present in legal thinking
for a long time. Before that, it was the encyclical Quadragesimo Anno that
extended the social teaching of the Catholic Church and referred to the
principle of assistance (principium subsidiaritatis) in the interest of the common
good. The principle of subsidiarity is one of the fundamental pillars of Catholic
social doctrine, emphasizing the need to maintain an appropriate level of
decision-making and responsibility, preferring smaller, local communities
over centralized authority, as long as they are able to carry out their tasks
effectively. The principle has its roots in Christian anthropology and
ecclesiastical thought, but its explicit formulation and systematic application
reached its peak in the teachings of the church in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The concept of subsidiarity is closely linked to the dignity of the person
and the natural order of community life. According to the Church’s teaching,
the human person is a free and responsible being, who has the right and duty
to shape his own life and community. This idea is already present in medieval
Christian philosophy, especially in the works of St. Thomas Aquinas, who
described the social order as a hierarchical but organic unit,”* in which each
% Pope John Paul IT, Address to Participants in a Convention on “The Environment and Health”
(24 March 1997), 5, L’Osservatore Romano, English edition, 9 April 1997, 2, https://www.
vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/1997/march/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19970324_
ambiente-salute.html.
% Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church
(Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2004), 465, https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/
pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott¬
soc_en.html.
Francis, Laudate Deum.
Aquinas, S. T. (1992). On Kingship: To the King of Cyprus (Vol.2). Aeterna Press., Chapter 15.
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