We publish below the CEI note on the topic of differentiated autonomy. The text, approved by the Permanent Episcopal Council on 22 May during the work of the 79th General Assembly, collects and makes its own the concerns that emerged from the Italian Episcopate. The approval of the bill on differentiated autonomy currently lacks a final vote in the House. The Note is accompanied by a video contribution from Monsignor Luigi Renna, archbishop of Catania, president of the Episcopal Commission for social problems and work, justice and peace and president of the Scientific Committee and organizer of the Social Weeks of Catholics in Italy. The text follows.
“The country will not grow unless together.” This belief has accompanied, over the decades, “the duty and will of the Church to be present and supportive in every part of Italy, to promote authentic development of the entire country”. It is a fundamental principle of unity and co-responsibility, which invites us to rediscover the authentic meaning of the State, of the common home, of a shared project for the future.
These are very relevant words even today, in which the methods of implementing the differentiated autonomy of the Regions with ordinary statute are discussed, as permitted by the constitutional provisions. And it is precisely the history of the country that tells us that there is no development without solidarity, attention to the least fortunate, valorisation of differences and co-responsibility in promoting the common good.
The experience of synodality of our Churches gives us particular strength, thanks to which we are growing in our ability to “walk together” as Christian communities and with the territories and civil community of the country. In particular, we believe that the word “together” is the key to facing today’s challenges and the path that leads to a possible future for everyone. In fact, we are convinced – and history confirms it – that the principle of subsidiarity is inseparable from that of solidarity. Every time they split, the social fabric is impoverished, either because individual realities are promoted without asking them to commit to the common good, or because there is a risk of centralizing everything at state level without valorising the skills of individuals. Solidarity and subsidiarity must walk together otherwise a void will be created that is impossible to fill.
With Pope Francis, we repeat that «universal brotherhood and social friendship within every society are two inseparable and coessential poles. Separating them leads to a deformation and a harmful polarization” (Fratelli tutti, 142). We have always cared about the well-being of every person, of communities, of the entire country, while we are concerned about any attempt to accentuate the already existing imbalances between territories, between metropolitan and internal areas, between centers and suburbs. In this sense, the bill which specifies the conditions for the activation of differentiated autonomy – provided for in Article 116, third paragraph, of the Constitution – risks undermining the foundations of that bond of solidarity between the different Regions, which is a safeguard for the principle of unity of the Republic. This risk cannot be underestimated, particularly in light of the already existing inequalities, especially in the field of health protection, to which a large part of the resources due to the Regions are dedicated and which raises apprehension as it is inadequate to citizens’ expectations both in terms of time and for the methods of providing services.
The developments of the autonomies system – whose construction with Luigi Sturzo, in the last century, was one of the main contributions of Catholics to the life of the country – cannot fail to take into account the effective definition of the essential levels of services relating to civil rights and social issues which must be guaranteed uniformly throughout the national territory.
Faced with all this, we make an appeal to the political institutions to sign a “social and cultural pact” (Evangelii gaudium, 239), to increase mechanisms of development, control and social justice for each and every one.
