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Subsidiarity understood in the right way both in the social doctrine of the Church and in the debates of the European Union shows that man and his ability to organize himself in small and big groups needs to be activated anew. In Croatia, questions linked to the field of sociology, after decades of Communist regime in which they were totally absent or even regarded as dangerous taboos, are finally becoming an object of discussion once again. To give new impulse and make a contribution to the opening up of these issues, the Croatian Bishops’ Conference and the Centre for the Promotion of the Social Doctrine of the Church have promoted a series of Study Days on the social doctrine of the Church for the faithful involved in public and cultural life and for the members of the non-confessional and Catholic associations. The participants also include the representatives of the diocese of Ðakovo and Srijem, well known for its practical and useful pastoral projects in support of the faithful. No less than six study days have been held in this diocese in the last few months: a series of one-day seminars attended by the members of the community who are interested in getting to know the fundamental principles of the social doctrine of the Church. These seminars have become a “nucleus” that will help inspire other believers to play an active role in the social life of the country. One of the most debated issues in these study days is that of subsidiarity, which, together with solidarity, represents one of the principles of European integration. Subsidiarity understood in the right way both in the social doctrine of the Church and in the debates of the European Union shows that man needs to be supported anew in organizing himself in small and big groups. For it is by starting out from the individual that the structure of society, and consequently mentality itself, is changed. Subsidiarity is not just a magic word, but represents a real sign of the times, especially in Croatia where it is not understood in a serious way, neither at the practical nor at the theoretical level. There are many obstacles to the realization of subsidiarity. One of the greatest is precisely the mentality that was created during the half century of atheist totalitarian, under which citizens expected the State to be responsible for their problems with the natural consequence of very weak civil institutions, a “paralysed” society and a family institution devoid of morality. In spite of that, subsidiarity in Croatia is not only possible, but also necessary and it is especially Christians who ought, through the social doctrine of the Church, to instil the well-founded hope that it is really possible to change themselves, others and the surrounding environment. Subsidiarity in the Church requires that even the ecclesial structures be formed in such a way that responsibility for the Church, for evangelization and for personal spiritual fulfilment may emerge in a clear way.
