B16 on Love and State Bureaucracy

In a post entitled against Leviathan I critique the notion of a large centralized state as a means for the common good. (Scroll down to see what I wrote.)

Pope Benedict penned some words in his recent encyclical Deus Caritas Est that get at what I was trying to see in a much, much better fashion. Here are some clips:

"Love of neighbor, grounded in the love of God is first and foremost a responsibility for each individual member of the faithful, but it is also a responsibility for the entire ecclesial community at every level: from the local community to the particular Church and to the Church universal in its entirety."

"The State which would provide everything, absorbing everything into itself, would ultimately become a mere bureaucracy incapable of guaranteeing the very thing which the suffering person -- every person -- needs: namely, loving personal concern."

"We do not need a State which regulates and controls everything, but a State which, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, generously acknowledges and supports initiatives arising from the different social forces and combines spontaneity with closeness to those in need."

Amen!