Acta Benedicti Pp. XVI 385

equal worth of the other - comes to fulfilment only when I willingly place

my life at the service of the other.14 Herein lies the ''vertical'' dimension of

solidarity: I am moved to make myself less than the other so as to minister to

his or her needs,15 just as Jesus ''humbled himself'' so as to give men and

women a share in his divine life with the Father and the Spirit.16

Similarly, subsidiarity - insofar as it encourages men and women to

enter freely into life-giving relationships with those to whom they are most

closely connected and upon whom they most immediately depend, and de-

mands of higher authorities respect for these relationships - manifests a

''vertical'' dimension pointing towards the Creator of the social order.17 A

society that honours the principle of subsidiarity liberates people from a

sense of despondency and hopelessness, granting them the freedom to engage

with one another in the spheres of commerce, politics and culture.18 When

those responsible for the public good attune themselves to the natural human

desire for self-governance based on subsidiarity, they leave space for indivi-

dual responsibility and initiative, but most importantly, they leave space for

love,19 which always remains ''the most excellent way''.20

In revealing the Father's love, Jesus has taught us not only how to live as

brothers and sisters here on earth; he has shown us that he himself is the way

to perfect communion with one another and with God in the world to come,

since it is through him that ''we have access in one Spirit to the Father''.21 As

you strive to articulate the ways in which men and women can best promote

the common good, I encourage you to survey both the ''vertical'' and ''hor-

izontal'' dimensions of solidarity and subsidiarity. In this way, you will be

able to propose more effective ways of resolving the manifold problems be-

setting mankind at the threshold of the third millennium, while also bearing

witness to the primacy of love, which transcends and fulfils justice as it draws

mankind into the very life of God.22

14 Cfr Eph 6:21. 15 Cfr Jn 13:14-15. 16 Cfr Phil 2:8; Mt 23:12. 17 Cfr Rom 12:16, 18. 18 Cfr Quadragesimo Anno, 80. 19 Cfr Rom 13:8; Deus Caritas Est, 28. 20 Cfr 1 Cor 12:31. 21 Eph 2:18. 22 Cfr Message for the 2004 World Day of Peace.