Subsidiarity is a very dull word. Which is a pity, because it describes a very important idea. It is, in fact, the approach of authority or leadership most like the one that Christ taught us. In simple terms, it means that a higher authority should perform only those tasks that cannot be performed effectively at lower or more local levels. We have all experienced subsidiarity as parents or children.
Parenthood is an exercise in managed separation. At the beginning, the parent has to make all the decisions, but over time the parent must stand back and allow the child to take more and more responsibility. The apogee is when the child, now well versed in personal responsibility, is able to enter the independent adult world.
