Dignity, Solidarity and Subsidiarity - A Framework for an Authentic Catholic Public Life

It was an innocent-sounding, matter of fact email which arrived in my inbox a few days before our Inaugural Autumn lecture. It came from the constituency office of our speaker, Mike Kane MP, offering the chance of a final meet-up before the lecture, should we deem it necessary. How courteous, I thought.

Then the following email arrived:.

“It is looking increasingly like Parliament is going to be prorogued next week, Mike is still committed to speaking at the lecture but he may be called to the chamber to vote at 7pm on Tuesday evening [the evening of the lecture].”

We began to worry.

We had modelled the Inaugural Autumn Lecture on similar public lectures in London, where a public figure is asked to speak within the context of the organisers field of interest. A politician is a ‘good fit’ for this kind of event as they are confident speakers and able to apply their philosophy to diverse situations; so we were delighted when Mike Kane MP accepted the invitation to deliver our Autumn Lecture.

The response to our publicity was positive and encouraging and we were anticipating a stimulating and informative evening with friends old and new.

A vote on the evening of the lecture was not part of the plan.

There followed an extremely anxious 24 hours. What should we do? What should we tell all the people who have registered? The dire warnings of colleagues rang in my ears: “A politician eh? - Brave!”; “Politicians are unpredictable, you know”; “Make sure you have a back-up speaker.”

After an anxious wait in which historian Dr Alana Harris (to whom I shall forever be grateful) agreed to step in as a back-up speaker should politics come between Mike and CPW’s Inaugural Lecture, we were relieved on the evening of Tuesday 8th October to find out that our speaker was on his way.

The pop-up foyer exhibition - Sink or Swim - Catholicism in Sixties Britain through John Ryan’s Cartoons — The pop-up foyer exhibition - *Sink or Swim - Catholicism in Sixties Britain through John Ryan’s Cartoons*

Mike arrived 30 minutes early allowing plenty of time to be shown our excellent pop-up Foyer Exhibition, Sink or Swim - Catholicism in Sixties Britain through John Ryan’s Cartoons by the co-curators Isabel Ryan (John’s daughter) and Dr Alana Harris. Dr Harris provided a short and insightful introduction to the exhibition before we all gathered in the lecture theatre for Mike’s talk. Titled ‘Faith, Politics and Power - the Catholic effect in Public Life’ – we eagerly awaited to hear what he had to say.

After warming the audience up with a little humour (he apologised in advance for the whole political class and recalled an anecdote from the Knowsley Safari Park), Mike recounted a ‘prophetic connection’ with CPW as he recalled the circumstances in which one of his friends had been affirmed and encouraged by a CPW experience in the past.

Mike Kane MP at the CPW Autumn Lecture - “Hear the Cry of the Earth, Hear the Cry of the Poor” — Mike Kane MP at the CPW Autumn Lecture - “*Hear the Cry of the Earth, Hear the Cry of the Poor”*

He then moved to the central issue of Power, admitting that Politics is often about the exercise of power but that people of faith have a framework within which to engage this. Quoting the theologian Karl Rahner who claimed that “Power is a gift from God”, Mike suggested that we all have some power, however small, and our duty is to grow it and apply it to bring about goodness. He distinguished between coercive power (power over others) and relational power (power shared with others) and reminded us of St Augustine’s Civitate Dei (City of God) which describes how we live in a temporal city and our duty, in this world, is to try to marry the two together.

Mike suggested that CPW is an organisation which builds the personal power of its members (as in the example of his friend), thus demonstrating its similarity with other Catholic Educational institutions, by helping to build the leaders of the future. He saw the Church as being primarily visible throughout liturgical practice, sacramental presence and Social Action as outlined in Catholic Social Teaching (CST).

CST provides Mike with three distinct lenses through which he views his parliamentary responsibilities: Human Dignity, Solidarity and Subsidiarity. Referencing the Papal encyclical Rerum Novarum and the document of the Bishops Conference of England and Wales, Choosing the Common Good, Mike was confident that his Faith and his political activities could be complimentary.

Mike Kane on how Catholic Social Teaching provides him with three distinct lenses through which he views his parliamentary responsibilities: Human Dignity, Solidarity and Subsidiarity.

He acknowledged that recent parliamentary sessions have not always been a masterclass in respect for the Human Dignity of one’s fellow MP’s, but did note that the BBC’s Parliamentary Channel had become so popular recently that it was eating into the Bake-off viewing figures – perhaps a positive take on the high-stake drama that has seen even the most politically apathetic citizen glued to the political news in the last few weeks. That said, he suggested that the dignity of each person can be interpreted in two ways: the first, from Genesis, is that all of us are created equal. The second reflects John 10:10 - that we may have life to the full, in abundance, and flourish. We want to flourish and give to others so that they might flourish too.

Quoting the Jewish Philosopher Martin Buber who, when challenged as to the whereabouts of God, stated that God was in the “spaces between people”, Mike described the strengthening effect of Solidarity. One person with little power acting alone can have little effect, many people with little power working together can change hearts and minds. God’s presence in the spaces between them is a powerful one.

He defined Subsidiarity as giving people the power and agency to make decisions to affect the changes which will impact them. He reminded us that this lecture was being delivered in a week when Extinction Rebellion was making its presence and protest felt on the streets of major cities, including London, and that the Church continues to speak about the effect individuals can have on their communities and the planet through Laudato Si and the Amazonian Synod. He also reminded us that the Church had been saying the same thing for some time. He drew our attention to the work of Peter Moran, 30 years earlier who urged us to “Hear the Cry of the Earth, Hear the Cry of the Poor”.

His response, and ours, he suggested, as Catholics, is to adopt the preferential option for the poor, ensuring the maximum utility for the maximum number of people, by lifting the most marginalised people into full participation in society. We do this by considering our own actions. What do we do? What do we make? How will it be used?

Putting his decision making within the context of these three principles has provided him with a framework for his political life where he can be true to what the Church calls ‘the Corporal works of Mercy’ - to feed the hungry and thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick and those in prison, and to bury the dead.

Finally, quoting the American Cultural Anthropologist, Margaret Mead, he encouraged CPW to “never doubt that a small group of like-minded committed people can change the world”, that social action is one of the most effective ways to draw people to faith, and that we need to do this, not only at CPW events, but in the day job too.

*“So go out there, and change the World!”*

“So go out there,” he said, “And change the World!”

Mike had delivered a personal and empowering talk which resonated with many members of the audience. His themes were over-arching, deliberately avoiding a politically polarised position, and opting instead for a wider interpretation of Gospel values. Naturally the audience wanted to quiz him more fully on specific issues, so as they considered their questions, I was able to introduce Janet Emmanuel who would facilitate the Q&A session.

Janet is an Assistant Head Teacher at Sydenham High School in South London, a school which she describes as a “truly comprehensive and diverse school which is rooted in the community”. She is also a member of Citizens UK, a group which organises communities to act together for power, social justice and the common good, and a board member of the London Community Land Trust which works to provide affordable homes in the Capital. She is a practising Catholic.

CPW members quiz the Shadow Minister for Schools.

Janet skilfully managed a question and answer session which roamed around the issues of whether Jesus was a Socialist, the interpretation of Catholic Social teaching through a a Conservative viewpoint, the Sanctity of life and the Climate Crisis.

After a great evening in which I was delighted to see so many CPW members, as well as those completely new to CPW, the conversation continued informally over sandwiches, juice, wine and coffee in the exhibition space for over an hour and Mike stayed to talk to everyone. Eventually, reluctantly, we had to leave so that the school could close for the night.

Is it risky asking a politician to speak? Yes. Would we do it again? Definitely!

Anne Dixon, CPW Chair