The Culture of Encounter Project - Georgetown University

I would like to make a proposal: We need to generate a culture of encounter. Facing the culture of fragmentation, as some have wanted to call it, or of nonintegration, more is demanded of us in difficult times, not favoring those who pretend to capitalize resentment, forget our shared history, or revel in weakening our ties.

We are all invited to build this culture of encounter, to realize and share this new ferment that—at the same time—is a revivifying memory of our best history of sacrifice in solidarity, of the struggle against various enslavements and social integration. We should be convinced once again that the whole is superior to the parts, time is superior to space, reality is superior to the idea, and unity is superior to conflict. Last, we often ask ourselves with some concern: What kind of world are we leaving to our children? It might be better to pose a different one: What children are we giving to this world?

Rebuild with hope our social ties! This is not a cold ethical and rationalistic proposition. It is not a new unrealizable utopia, much less a disaffected and destructive pragmatism. It is the imperative need to live together to build the desired common good, that of a community that surrenders interests to be able to share justly their assets, their interests, and their social life in peace. Nor is it just an administrative or technical management plan. Instead, it is the constant conviction expressed in actions, in the personal approach, in a distinctive stamp, where this will be expressed to change our way of kneading, in hope, a new culture of encounter, of proximity; where privilege is no longer an impregnable and irreducible power, and exploitation and abuse are no longer a habitual way of surviving. Following this line of promoting an approach, a culture of hope that creates new bonds, I invite you to win over wills, to pacify, and to convince.

It is urgent to build and establish the culture of encounter. It is urgent to recover the otherness and liberate ourselves from the amnesia that closes off our historical memory, that closes off the community commitment of the pre sent and closes off the capacity of utopias towards the future. These autisms imprison us and lead to confrontations.

Through dialogue we are brave because it is no longer me, we are many; when we dialogue, we gain the courage to launch this legacy, committed to the present, toward future utopias, and to fulfill our duty to make the received inheritance grow through fruitful commitments in future utopias. Country of confrontations? I don’t know. Culture of encounter? It must be done, through the instrument of dialogue, because it is very sad to be homeland orphans.

However, we must go out to meet them, and with our faith we must create a “culture of encounter”, a culture of friendship, a culture in which we find brothers and sisters, in which we can also speak with those who think differently, as well as those who hold other beliefs, who do not have the same faith.

To be called by Jesus, to be called to evangelize, and third: to be Called to promote the culture of encounter – In many places, generally speaking, due to the economic humanism that has been imposed in the world, the culture of exclusion, of rejection, is spreading. There is no place for the elderly or for the unwanted child; there is no time for that poor person in the street. At times, it seems that for some people, human relations are regulated by two modern “dogmas”: efficiency and pragmatism.

Dear brothers and sisters, God calls us, by name and surname, each one of us, to proclaim the Gospel and to promote the culture of encounter with joy. The Virgin Mary is our exemplar. In her life she was “a model of that motherly love with which all who join in the Church’s apostolic mission for the regeneration of humanity should be animated” (Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 65).

Be servants of communion and of the culture of encounter! I would like you to be almost obsessed about this. Be so without being presumptuous, imposing “our truths”, but rather be guided by the humble yet joyful certainty of those who have been found, touched and transformed by the Truth who is Christ, ever to be proclaimed (cf. Lk 24:13-35)

Such a process seeks to promote an integral humanism and the culture of encounter and relationship: this is the Christian way of promoting the common good, the joy of living. Here, faith and reason unite, the religious dimension and the various aspects of human culture – art, science, labour, literature… Christianity combines transcendence and incarnation; it has the capacity to bring ever new vitality to thought and life, in the face of the threat of frustration and disillusionment which can creep into hearts and spread in the streets.

The only way for individuals, families and societies to grow, the only way for the life of peoples to progress, is via the culture of encounter, a culture in which all have something good to give and all can receive something good in return. Others always have something to give me, if we know how to approach them in a spirit of openness and without prejudice. This open spirit, without prejudice, I would describe as “social humility”, which is what favours dialogue. Only in this way can understanding grow between cultures and religions, mutual esteem without needless preconceptions, in a climate that is respectful of the rights of everyone. Today, either we take the risk of dialogue, we risk the culture of encounter, or we all fall; this is the path that will bear fruit.

We must build, create, construct a culture of encounter. How many differences, how many problems in the family there always are! Problems in the neighbourhood, problems at work, problems everywhere. And differences don't help. The culture of encounter. Going out to meet each other.

I repeat forcefully: it is neither a culture of confrontation nor a culture of conflict which builds harmony within and between peoples, but rather a culture of encounter and a culture of dialogue; this is the only way to peace.

Let us ask Mary to help us to respond to violence, to conflict and to war, with the power of dialogue, reconciliation and love. She is our mother: may she help us to find peace; all of us are her children! Help us, Mary, to overcome this most difficult moment and to dedicate ourselves each day to building in every situation an authentic culture of encounter and peace. Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us!

I wanted to recall some of the steps in these 30 years of the growing closeness between us, because I believe that on the ecumenical path it is important to look with trust to the steps that have been completed, overcoming prejudices and closed attitudes which are part of a kind of “culture of clashes” and source of division, and giving way to a "culture of encounter", which educates us for mutual understanding and for working towards unity.

The second word: accompanying. In recent years the Astalli Centre has progressed. At the outset it offered services of basic hospitality: a soup-kitchen, a place to sleep, legal assistance. It then learned to accompany people in their search for a job and to fit into society. Then it also proposed cultural activities so as to contribute to increasing a culture of acceptance, a culture of encounter and of solidarity, starting with the safeguard of human rights. Accompanying on its own is not enough.

The university as a place where the culture of closeness develops, a culture of closeness. This is a proposal: a culture of closeness. Isolation and withdrawing into one's own interests are never the way to restore hope and bring about a renewal. Rather, it is closeness, it is the culture of encounter. Isolation, no. Closeness, yes. Culture clash, no; culture of encounter, yes. The university is a privileged place where this culture of dialogue is promoted, taught and lived, this culture which does not indiscriminately level out differences and plurality — this is one of the risks of globalization — nor does it take them to the extreme, causing them to become causes of conflict.

The university as a place of formation in solidarity. The word solidarity does not belong solely to a Christian vocabulary. It is a word that is fundamental to human vocabulary. As I said today it is a word which in the present crisis, risks being eliminated from the dictionary. The discernment of reality, by taking on the moment of crisis, and the promotion of a culture of encounter and dialogue, orientate us to solidarity as a fundamental element for a renewal of our societies.

As religious leaders, we are called to be true ‘people of dialogue’, to cooperate in building peace not as intermediaries but as authentic mediators. Intermediaries seek to give everyone a discount ultimately in order to gain something for themselves. However, the mediator is one who retains nothing for himself, but rather spends himself generously until he is consumed, knowing that the only gain is peace. Each one of us is called to be an artisan of peace, by uniting and not dividing, by extinguishing hatred and not holding on to it, by opening paths to dialogue and not by constructing new walls! Let us dialogue and meet each other in order to establish a culture of dialogue in the world, a culture of encounter.

In these last few weeks, I have reaffirmed on more than one occasion the Church’s condemnation of all forms of anti-Semitism. Today I wish to emphasize that the problem of intolerance must be confronted in all its forms: wherever any minority is persecuted and marginalized because of its religious convictions or ethnic identity, the wellbeing of society as a whole is endangered and each one of us must feel affected. With particular sadness I think of the sufferings, the marginalization and the very real persecutions which not a few Christians are undergoing in various countries. Let us combine our efforts in promoting a culture of encounter, respect, understanding and mutual forgiveness.

I also wish all the best to your association, the Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired. Spread always the culture of encounter, solidarity, acceptance of people with disabilities, not only by asking for just social welfare, but also by fostering their active participation in the life of society.

People in every nation enhance the social dimension of their lives by acting as committed and responsible citizens, not as a mob swayed by the powers that be. Let us not forget that “responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation”. Yet becoming a people demands something more. It is an ongoing process in which every new generation must take part: a slow and arduous effort calling for a desire for integration and a willingness to achieve this through the growth of a peaceful and multifaceted culture of encounter.

Regarding the value and meaning of your work, allow me to emphasize a perspective which I think is very important. Through your service, you are in a position to promote the culture of encounter. You are diplomatic officials, and all of your work aims at ensuring that representatives from nations, international organizations and institutions come together in the most profitable way. How important this service is! The more visible, ceremonial aspect of your work is ordered to the unseen, to the growth of positive relations based on mutual understanding, respect and the common search for paths of development and peace.

But let us think of the many that Jesus wanted to meet, especially people marked by illness and disability, in order to heal them and restore them to full dignity. It is very important that these same people become witnesses to a new attitude, that we can call the culture of encounter.

These are two opposing cultures. The culture of encounter and the culture of exclusion. The culture of prejudice; because it criticized and excludes. Precisely because of their fragility, their limitations, the sick and disabled can become witnesses of the encounter: the encounter with Jesus, which opens them to life and faith, and to encounter others, with the community. Indeed, only those who recognize their own fragility, their own limitations, can build fraternal and solid relationships in the Church and in society.

Precisely what you have in common is what urges you to undertake the dialogue that is beginning today, which must have as its foundation an authentic culture of encounter that is aware that unity always prevails over conflict. I encourage you therefore to look beyond the eventuality of conflict, with reciprocal readiness to become and be genuine peacemakers. At the heart of every authentic dialogue there is, first and foremost, recognition and respect for the other. There is, above all, the “heroism” of forgiveness and mercy, which frees us from resentment and hate, and which opens a truly new path. It is a long and difficult path, which requires patience and courage, but it is the only one that can lead to peace and justice. For the good of all the people and for the future of your children, I call upon you to have this courage.

The walls which divide us can be broken down only if we are prepared to listen and learn from one another. We need to resolve our differences through forms of dialogue which help us grow in understanding and mutual respect. A culture of encounter demands that we be ready not only to give, but also to receive. Media can help us greatly in this, especially nowadays, when the networks of human communication have made unprecedented advances. The internet, in particular, offers immense possibilities for encounter and solidarity. This is something truly good, a gift from God.

How, then, can communication be at the service of an authentic culture of encounter? What does it mean for us, as disciples of the Lord, to encounter others in the light of the Gospel? In spite of our own limitations and sinfulness, how do we draw truly close to one another? These questions are summed up in what a scribe – a communicator – once asked Jesus: “And who is my neighbour?” (Lk 10:29).

In the bosom of the family, no one is set apart: both the elderly and the child will be welcome here. The culture of encounter and of dialogue, openness to solidarity and transcendence, originates in the family.

This capacity for empathy enables a true human dialogue in which words, ideas and questions arise from an experience of fraternity and shared humanity. If we want to get to the theological basis of this, we have to go to the Father: he created us all; all of us are children of one Father. This capacity for empathy leads to a genuine encounter – we have to progress toward this culture of encounter – in which heart speaks to heart. We are enriched by the wisdom of the other and become open to traveling together the path to greater understanding, friendship and solidarity.

Tonight’s sporting event is a highly symbolic gesture to help one understand that it is possible to build a culture of encounter and a world of peace, where believers of different religions, while preserving their own identity — for when I said “regardless” this did not mean “setting aside”, no. Believers of different religions, while preserving their own identity, can coexist in harmony and mutual respect.

With the power of the Gospel and the example of your ancestors and the martyrs, you know how to say “No” to the idolatry of money – “No” to the idolatry of money! –, “No” to the false freedom of individualism, “No” to addiction and to violence; you also know how to say “Yes” to a culture of encounter and of solidarity. 

And what does the Gospel do? The Gospel generates consideration for the other, a culture of encounter, of solidarity. Thus by the power of the Gospel you will be witnesses of hope in instability.

To reawaken words, to open and not to close, to speak to the integral person brings about this culture of encounter, which is so necessary today in an increasingly plural context. Conflicts get us nowhere. Build a culture of encounter. This is a fine task for you. This requires you to be willing not only to give, but also to receive from others.

I experienced an eloquent sign that the culture of encounter is possible during my visit to Albania, a nation full of young people who represent hope for the future. Despite the painful events of its recent history, the country is marked by the “peaceful coexistence and collaboration that exists among followers of different religions” in an atmosphere of respect and mutual trust between Catholics, Orthodox and Muslims.

At the same time, peace is a daily endeavour, a courageous and authentic effort to favour reconciliation, to promote experiences of sharing, to extend bridges of dialogue, to serve the weakest and the excluded. In a word, peace consists in building up a “culture of encounter.”

May the culture of encounter grow between Israelis and Palestinians and the peace process be resumed, in order to end years of suffering and division.

I am pleased to be in this city which, although it has suffered so much in the bloody conflicts of the past century, has once again become a place of dialogue and peaceful coexistence. Bosnia and Herzegovina has advanced from a culture of conflict and war to a culture of encounter.

Dialogue presupposes and demands that we seek a culture of encounter; an encounter which acknowledges that diversity is not only good, it is necessary. Uniformity nullifies us, it makes us robots. The richness of life is in diversity. For this reason, the point of departure cannot be, “I'm going to dialogue but he’s wrong”. No, no, we must not presume that the other person is wrong. I dialogue with my identity but I'm going to listen to what the other person has to say, how I can be enriched by the other, who makes me realize my mistakes and see the contribution I can offer. It is a going out and a coming back, always with an open heart. If I presume that the other person is wrong, it's better to go home and not dialogue, would you not agree? Dialogue is for the common good and the common good is sought by starting from our differences, constantly leaving room for new alternatives. In other words, look for something new. When dialogue is authentic, it ends up with – allow me to use the word and to use it in a noble way – a new agreement, in which we all agree on something. Are there differences? They remain to one side, to be looked at again later. But on those things that we are agreed, we are committed and we defend them. This is one step forward. This is the culture of encounter.

Dialogue is not about negotiating. Negotiating is trying to get your own slice of the cake. To see if I can get my own way. If you go with this intention, don't dialogue, don't waste your time. Dialogue is about seeking the common good. Discuss, think, and discover together a better solution for everybody. Many times this culture of encounter can involve conflict. To put it another way, we saw a beautiful ballet recently. Everything was coordinated and the orchestra was a veritable symphony of concordance. Everything was perfect. Everything went well. But during dialogue, it's not always the case, for it is not a perfect ballet or a coordinated orchestra. During dialogue there is conflict. This is logical and even desirable. Because if I think in one way and you in another and we walk together, there will be conflict. But we mustn't fear it, we mustn’t ignore it. On the contrary, we are invited to embrace conflict.

Each of us is responsible for his or her neighbour: we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they live. Concern for fostering good relationships with others and the ability to overcome prejudice and fear are essential ingredients for promoting the culture of encounter, in which we are not only prepared to give, but also to receive from others. Hospitality, in fact, grows from both giving and receiving.

Those who truly encounter Jesus cannot remain the same as before. He is the novelty that makes all things new. Those who experience this encounter become witnesses and make the encounter possible for others; they also promote the culture of encounter, avoiding the self-referentiality that makes us stay closed off within ourselves.

A married couple who experience the power of love know that this love is called to bind the wounds of the outcast, to foster a culture of encounter and to fight for justice.

May Chinese Catholics, in this Year of Mercy, along with those who follow other noble religious traditions, become a concrete sign of charity and reconciliation. In this way they will promote an authentic culture of encounter and harmony for society as a whole, that harmony that is so beloved to the Chinese spirit.

A climate of encounter, of a 'bridge' that unites and that is a challenge for this world, a world that always runs the risk of becoming atomised, of separating. And when peoples separate, families separate, friends separate, and in separation one can sow only enmity and even hatred. Instead, when people unite there is social friendship, fraternal friendship; and there is a culture of encounter, that defends us from any type of throwaway culture.

I trust that these days will be, for all, a special occasion to foster the culture of encounter, the culture of respect, the culture of understanding and of mutual forgiveness. This is about ‘making a ruckus’, about dreaming. And young people are supposed to ‘make a ruckus’!

I hope that every one may live this Extraordinary Holy Year by fostering the culture of encounter, recognizing the presence of the Lord’s flesh particularly in the poor and in the needy.

Our religious traditions are a necessary source of inspiration to foster a culture of encounter. Interreligious cooperation, based on the promotion of sincere and respectful dialogue, is essential. If there is no mutual respect there will be no interreligious dialogue.

An invitation to work for “the culture of encounter”, in a simple way, “as Jesus did”: not just seeing, but looking; not just hearing, but listening; not just passing people by, but stopping with them; not just saying “what a shame, poor people!”, but allowing yourself to be moved with compassion; “and then to draw near, to touch and to say: ‘Do not weep’ and to give at least a drop of life."

This discourse also reaches out to the people of today, who are far too “accustomed to a culture of indifference” and who therefore need to “work and ask for the grace to build a culture of encounter, of this fruitful encounter, this encounter that returns to each person their dignity as children of God, the dignity of living.”

Work for the culture of encounter, in a simple way, as Jesus did.

It is my love for my country that leads me to do this, and which leads me also to ask you, once more, to shoulder the weight of your homeland, this country that needs each one of us to give the best of ourselves, to improve, to grow and to mature. And this will help us achieve this culture of encounter that can overcome all these throwaway cultures that are offered everywhere in the world today. A culture of encounter where there is a place for everyone, where everyone can live with dignity and where one can express oneself peacefully without being insulted, attacked or rejected.

Religions, on the contrary, which help to discern the good and put it into practice through deeds, prayer and diligent cultivation of the inner life, are called to build a culture of encounter and peace, based on patience, understanding, and humble, tangible steps. This is the way a humane society is best served. For its part, society must always overcome the temptation to take advantage of religious factors: religions must never be instrumentalised, nor can they ever lend support to, or approve of, conflicts and disagreements.

I encourage all the faithful to express this spiritual renewal also by sharing in the Lenten Campaigns promoted by many Church organizations in different parts of the world, and thus to favour the culture of encounter in our one human family. Let us pray for one another so that, by sharing in the victory of Christ, we may open our doors to the weak and poor. Then we will be able to experience and share to the full the joy of Easter.

Our great challenge is to create a culture of encounter, which encourages individuals and groups to share the richness of their traditions and experiences, to break down walls and to build bridges. The Church in America, as elsewhere, is called to “go out” from its comfort zone and to be a leaven of communion. Communion among ourselves, with our fellow Christians, and with all who seek a future of hope.

The manger invites us to break with the logic of exceptions for some and exclusion for others. God Himself comes to shatter the chains of privilege that always cause exclusion, in order to introduce the caress of compassion that brings inclusion, that makes the dignity of each person shine forth, the dignity for which he or she was created. A child in swaddling clothes shows us the power of God Who approaches us as a gift, an offering, a leaven and opportunity for creating a culture of encounter.

I would like to encourage everyone to engage in constructive forms of communication that reject prejudice towards others and foster a culture of encounter, helping all of us to view the world around us with realism and trust.

Whereas the culture of encounter and reconciliation engenders life and gives rise to hope, the “non-culture” of hate sows death and reaps despair. Last year I visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. There are no adequate words or thoughts in the face of such horrors of cruelty and sin; there is prayer, that God may have mercy and that such tragedies may never happen again.

Sport also helps us to spread a culture of encounter and solidarity... Together, athletes and helpers show us that there are no obstacles or barriers which cannot be overcome. You are a sign of hope for all who commit themselves to a more inclusive society. Every life is precious, every person is a gift and inclusion enriches every community and society. This is your message for the world, for a world without borders, which excludes no one.

The university can also be the place where we process the culture of encounter and welcome for people of different cultural traditions and religions.

Our commitment to give water its proper place calls for developing a culture of care – it seems to be something poetic and, indeed, Creation is a “poiesis”, this culture of care that is creative – and also fostering a culture of encounter, joining in common cause all the necessary efforts made by scientists and business people, government leaders and politicians.

True faith is one that makes us more charitable, more merciful, more honest and more humane. It moves our hearts to love everyone without counting the cost, without distinction and without preference. It makes us see the other not as an enemy to be overcome, but a brother or sister to be loved, served and helped. It spurs us on to spread, defend and live out the culture of encounter, dialogue, respect and fraternity.

I invite the whole Church, and men and women of good will everywhere, to turn their gaze on this day to all those who stretch out their hands and plead for our help and solidarity. They are our brothers and sisters,created and loved by the one Heavenly Father. This Day is meant, above all, to encourage believers to react against a culture of discard and waste, and to embrace the culture of encounter.

Teamwork, fair play and the pursuit of personal excellence are the values – in the religious sense, we can say virtues – that have guided your own commitment on the field. Yet these same values are urgently needed off the field, on all levels of our life as a community. They are the values that help build a culture of encounter, in which we anticipate and meet the needs of our brothers and sisters, and combat the exaggerated individualism, indifference and injustice that hold us back from living as one human family. How greatly our world needs this culture of encounter!

Despite obstacles, differences and varying perspectives on the way to achieve peaceful coexistence, this task summons us to persevere in the struggle to promote a “culture of encounter”. This requires us to place at the centre of all political, social and economic activity the human person, who enjoys the highest dignity, and respect for the common good. May this determination help us flee from the temptation to vengeance and the satisfaction of short-term partisan interests. We recently heard the words being sung: “Following the path takes its time”. This is long-term. The more demanding the path that leads to peace and understanding, the greater must be our efforts to acknowledge each another, to heal wounds, to build bridges, to strengthen relationships and support one another.

For you find it easy to meet together. You teach us, who are older, that the culture of meeting is not in thinking, living or reacting to everyone in the same way. No, it is not that. The culture of encounter, of meeting, is knowing that beyond our differences we are all part of something greater that unites and transcends us; we are part of this wonderful country. Help us to enter, help us who are older, to enter this culture of encounter, of meeting which you put into practice so well.

Love between man and woman is clearly one of the most generative human experiences; it is the leaven of the culture of encounter and brings an injection of sociability to today’s world.

For the unity we share and celebrate is born of diversity. Never forget this – it is born of diversity! It values people’s differences as a source of mutual enrichment and growth. It invites people to come together in a culture of encounter and solidarity.

Everything is justified on the basis of the god of money. Given that many of you have contributed to combating this pathology in the past, today you are well placed to correct it in the future. I beg you to confront this difficult theme and to show us, in accordance with your prophetic and creative mission, that a culture of encounter and care is possible. Today there is at stake not only the dignity of the employed, but also the dignity of the labour of all people, and the home of all people, our mother earth.

Through the teachings of the Buddha, and the dedicated witness of so many monks and nuns, the people of this land have been formed in the values of patience, tolerance and respect for life, as well as a spirituality attentive to, and deeply respectful of, our natural environment. As we know, these values are essential to the integral development of society, starting with its smallest but most essential unit, the family, and extending through the network of relationships that bring us together – relationships rooted in culture, ethnicity and nationality, but ultimately in our common humanity. In a true culture of encounter, these values can strengthen our communities and help to bring much needed light to wider society.

It is a particularly gratifying sign of our times that believers and all people of good will feel increasingly called to cooperate in shaping a culture of encounter, dialogue and cooperation in the service of our human family.

Dear friends, I thank you for your efforts to promote the culture of encounter, and I pray that, by demonstrating the common commitment of believers to discerning the good and putting it into practice, they will help all believers to grow in wisdom and holiness, and to cooperate in building an ever more humane, united and peaceful world.

In Dhaka we experienced a profound moment of interreligious and ecumenical dialogue, which afforded me the opportunity to emphasize openness of heart as the foundation of a culture of encounter, harmony and of peace. 

I thank you for the contribution you give to the Church’s commitment to promoting the culture of encounter. And I encourage you to do so, if possible, in an even more grass-roots and incisive way. In fact, in this cultural challenge the foundations laid down over the years of primary education for children are decisive. Christian teachers, whether they work in Catholic schools or in state schools, are called to stimulate in the pupils the openness to the other as a face, as a person, as a brother and sister to know and respect, with his or her history, merits and defects, riches and limits. The challenge is to cooperate to train young people to be open and interested in the reality that surrounds them, capable of care and tenderness – I think of bullies – free from the widespread prejudice according to which one must be competitive, aggressive, and hard towards others, especially towards those who are different, foreign or in any way seen as an obstacle to one’s own affirmation. This unfortunately is the “air” that our children often breathe, and the remedy is to make sure that they can breathe a different, healthier, more human air.

Education helps us to build bridges and to create a culture of encounter. Schooling and education for the native peoples must be a priority and commitment of the state: an integrated and inculturated commitment that recognizes, respects and integrates their ancestral wisdom as a treasure belonging to the whole nation.

What a beautiful image of the Church without borders, where all peoples have a place! How much we need moments like these, to be together and, regardless of our place of origin, to inspire us to build a culture of encounter that renews us in hope.

A second guiding criterion, closely linked to and flowing from the first, is that of wide-ranging dialogue, not as a mere tactical approach, but as an intrinsic requirement for experiencing in community the joy of the Truth and appreciating more fully its meaning and practical implications. Today our proclamation of the Gospel and the Church’s doctrine are called to promote a culture of encounter, in generous and open cooperation with all the positive forces that contribute to the growth of universal human consciousness. A culture, we might say, of encounter between all the authentic and vital cultures, thanks to a reciprocal exchange of the gifts of each in that 4 luminous space opened up by God’s love for all his creatures.

I encourage you, in this “Diaconate of Beauty”, to promote a culture of encounter, of building bridges between people, between populations, in a world in which many walls are still raised out of fear of others.

Christians are called upon to participate, along with believers of all religions and all men of good will, in order to foster the development of a culture of encounter. In this sense, may your desire to serve the common good lead you to do everything possible to build bridges between people who find themselves in different social, economic, cultural and religious conditions, as well as between different generations.

The media offer us enormous potential to contribute, with our pastoral service, to the culture of encounter.

In a world in which access to information and communication tools is ever more widespread, a special responsibility falls to those who work in the field of social communication, who have the duty to put themselves at the service of truth and to broadcast information taking care to promote a culture of encounter and openness to others with mutual respect for diversity.

Open your hearts and minds to discern the merciful plan of God, who asks us to rise above personal prejudices and conflicts between groups and communities, in order to undertake a courageous fraternal journey in the light of an authentic culture of encounter.

Young people occupy a privileged position for meeting the survivors of human trafficking. Go to your parishes, to an association near your home, meet people, listen to them. From there, a response and a concrete commitment on your part will grow. I see the risk of this becoming an abstract problem, but it is not abstract. There are signs that you can learn to “read”, which tell you: here there could be a victim of trafficking, a slave. We need to promote the culture of encounter that always brings with it an unexpected richness and great surprises. Saint Paul gives us an example: in Christ, the slave Onesimus is no longer a slave but much more, he is a very dear brother (cf. Philemon 1: 16).

You, dear friends, have made many sacrifices to be able to meet one another and in this way you have become true teachers and builders of the culture of encounter. By all of this, you become teachers and builders of the culture of encounter, which is not: “Hi, how’s it going? Bye, see you later”. No, the culture of encounter is what makes us walk together with our differences but also with love, everyone united on the same journey. By your actions and your approach, your way of looking at things, your desires and above all your sensitivity, you discredit and defuse the kind of talk that is intent on sowing division, the kind of talk that is intent on excluding or rejecting those who are not “like us”.

That country has grown very much in recent decades. It has become a crossroads between East and West, a multi-ethnic and multi-religious ‘oasis’ and thus, a suitable place in which to promote the culture of encounter.

To encounter means to know how to do something else: to enter into the culture of encounter. It is a call inviting us together to dare to keep alive a shared dream. We have many differences, and we speak different languages. We wear different clothes but, please, let us aim at having a dream in common. We can do this. This does not cancel us out but enriches us. A great dream, a dream that has a place for everyone.

If, as a result of our own simple and at times costly efforts, we can find points of agreement amid conflict, build bridges and make peace for the benefit of all, then we will experience the miracle of the culture of encounter. This is something which young people can dare to pursue with passion.

There is also a beauty, unrelated to appearances or fashionable dress, in all those men and women who pursue their personal vocation with love, in selfless service of community or nation, in the hard work of building a happy family, in the selfless and demanding effort to advance social harmony. To find, to disclose and to highlight this beauty, which is like that of Christ on the cross, is to lay the foundations of genuine social solidarity and the culture of encounter.

Catholic schools remain essential places for the evangelization of the young. Account should be taken of a number of guiding principles set forth in Veritatis Gaudium for the renewal and revival of missionary outreach on the part of schools and universities. These include a fresh experience of the kerygma, wide-ranging dialogue, interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary approaches, the promotion of a culture of encounter, the urgency of creating networks and an option in favour of those who are least, those whom society discards

May your charity be ever active and thus a path of communion between Christians of every confession present in Morocco: the ecumenism of charity. May it be also a path of dialogue and cooperation with our Muslim brothers and sisters, and with all men and women of good will. Charity, especially towards the vulnerable, is the best opportunity we have to keep working to build of a culture of encounter.

Today more than ever there is a need to promote in Europe and throughout the world the culture of encounter and of fraternity, and I will come among you to sow these seeds, sure in the knowledge that yours is good soil, and that it will be able to welcome them and bear fruit.

After your country attained independence, the Holy See wished to establish a rapport of friendship and diplomatic relations. Nowadays, more than ever, there is a need to nurture in Europe and in the whole world the culture of encounter, the culture of fraternity, and I will come in your midst to sow these seeds, sure that yours is good soil, that will know how to receive them and bear fruit.

Mary encounters Elizabeth (cf. Lk 1:39-56), a woman already advanced in years (v. 7). But Elizabeth, though older, is the one who speaks of the future and, “filled with the Holy Spirit” (v. 41), prophesies in words that foreshadow the last of the Gospel beatitudes: “Blessed are those who believe” (cf. Jn 20:29). Remarkably, the younger woman goes to meet the older one, seeking her roots, while the older woman is reborn and prophetically foretells the future of the younger one. Here, young and old meet, embrace and awaken the best of each. It is a miracle brought about by the culture of encounter, where no one is discarded or pigeonholed, but all are sought out, because all are needed to reveal the Lord’s face. They are not afraid to walk together, and when this happens, God appears and works wonders in his people. The Holy Spirit impels us to go out from ourselves, from all that hems us in, from the things to which we cling.

A further step is the courage to train individuals who are ready to offer themselves in service to the community. Service is a pillar of the culture of encounter: “It means bending over those in need and stretching out a hand to them, without calculation, without fear, but with tenderness and understanding, just as Jesus knelt to wash the Apostles’ feet. Serving means working beside the neediest of people, establishing with them first and foremost human relationships of closeness and bonds of solidarity”. In serving others, we experience that there is more joy in giving than in receiving (cf. Acts 20:35). In this regard, all institutions must be open to examining the aims and methods that determine how they carry out their educational mission.

For several years now, in New York City, you have dedicated yourselves to the assistance and healthcare of those who live on the margins of society, in situations of poverty and hunger. In this way you spread the culture of encounter.

Otherwise, a dominant paradigm – the “technocratic paradigm” – that promises uncontrolled and unlimited progress will be imposed and perhaps will even eliminate other factors of development, with great danger for the whole of humanity. By your work, you have sought to prevent this and to make concrete the culture of encounter and interdisciplinary dialogue.

I myself recently had the honour of welcoming a delegation of monks from the Wat Pho temple, who presented me with a translation of an ancient Buddhist manuscript in the Pali language kept in the Vatican Library. These are small steps which help testify that the culture of encounter is possible, not only within our communities but also in our world, so prone to creating and spreading conflict and exclusion.

Wisdom: your University is called “Sophia” because its objective is first of all to communicate and learn wisdom in order to infuse all its sciences. Wisdom is in fact the Light of the countenance of God that illuminates the face of man: his mystery, his questions, his sufferings, his destiny. For us Christians, wisdom is Jesus crucified and risen, but His light illuminates all men (cf. Jn 1: 9): all religions, all cultures, all authentic exercises of humanity. For this reason, we are called to walk together with each other – as you do – to build a true and harmonious culture of encounter.

Our meeting today is so joyful precisely because we are saying that the culture of encounter is possible, that it is not a utopia, and that you young people have the special sensitivity needed to carry it forward.

Young people need to give something to the world. Bear witness that a “social friendship”, friendship among yourselves, is possible! Put your hope in a future based on the culture of encounter, acceptance, fraternity and respect for the dignity of each person, especially those most in need of love and understanding. Without sensing the need to attack or despise others, but learning instead to recognize their gifts.

In Tokyo I had the opportunity to visit Emperor Naruhito to whom I once more express my gratitude. I also met the country’s Authorities with the Diplomatic Corps. I expressed my wishes for a culture of encounter and dialogue, marked by wisdom and broad outlook. Remaining faithful to its religious and moral values and open to the Gospel message, Japan can be a leading nation for a more just and peaceful world and for harmony between mankind and the environment.

On the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we renew our gaze of faith, which sees in each brother and sister the presence of Christ Himself, Who considers every gesture of love towards one of His least brothers to have been made to Himself (cf. Gospel of Matthew 25: 40). On this occasion, I would like to recall how today the promotion of the right to participation plays a central role in combating discrimination and promoting the culture of encounter and quality of life.

In my journeys during this past year, I was also able to visit three Eastern European countries, first Bulgaria and North Macedonia, and then Romania. Three countries each different from the others, yet linked by the fact that for centuries they have been bridges between East and West, and a crossroads of diverse cultures, ethnicities and civilizations. As I visited them, I experienced once again the importance of dialogue and the culture of encounter for creating peaceful societies in which each individual can freely express his or her ethnic and religious identity.

Christ redeemed the whole person, and he wishes to restore in each of us the capacity to enter into relationship with others. The Gospel proposes the divine charity welling up in the heart of Christ and generating a pursuit of justice that is at once a hymn of fraternity and of solidarity, an impetus to the culture of encounter. The wisdom of the way of life of the original peoples – for all its limitations – encourages us to deepen this desire.

The journey continues, and missionary efforts, if they are to develop a Church with an Amazonian face, need to grow in a culture of encounter towards “a multifaceted harmony.”

In a particular way, too, global exhibitions contribute to the growth of a culture of encounter, that strengthens bonds of solidarity and fosters mutual enrichment between the members of our human family (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 220). Your work thus has a transcendent dimension. As a service to the common good, it should promote inclusion, care for our common home, and the integral development of individuals and peoples. These ethical concerns are not secondary, but essential to forging an economy in which financial returns do not represent the only variable for measuring success.

Future generations must have a clear understanding of their own tradition and culture – this is non-negotiable – in relation to other traditions, in such a way that they can develop their own self-understanding by encountering and appropriating cultural diversity and change. This will enable the promotion of a culture of dialogue, a culture of encounter and mutual understanding, in a spirit of serenity and tolerance. An education that enables young people to identify and foster true human values from an intercultural and interreligious perspective.

Coming among you, I wished to encourage you to walk in the style of encounter, all together: the young, families, the elderly, the various communities that historically form part of your society. The culture of encounter is built in the search for harmony among diversity, a harmony that requires acceptance, openness and creativity. At the root of this style of life there is the Gospel, there is the Holy Spirit. But we know that in history and in real life, this harmony is at times harmed by our sins and our limits. Therefore, during my visit, we prayed also for the healing of wounds. Remember: never tire of invoking the Holy Spirit, who is the Creator of harmony and balm for wounds!

The ‘culture of encounter’ is conducive to dialogue, solidarity and openness to others, as it is person-centred. Naturally, a Parish must be a place that brings people together and fosters long-term personal relationships, thereby giving people a sense of belonging and being wanted.

Of you, bishops and priests, I ask apostolic zeal, poverty and austerity. Be poor together with your poor and suffering people. Be the first to give an example of poverty and humility. Help the faithful and your people to rise again and contribute actively to a new rebirth. May all alike foster concord and renewal in the name of the common good and a genuine culture of encounter, peaceful coexistence and fraternity. Fraternity: a word so dear to Saint Francis.

It is also fundamental to change the way of seeing and speaking about migration: it means putting the people, the faces, the stories at the centre. Thus the importance of projects, like the one you promote, that seek to offer different approaches, inspired by the culture of encounter, which constitutes the journey toward a new humanism. And when I say “new humanism”, I do not mean just as a philosophy of life, but also as a spirituality, as a style of conduct.

I encourage you to continue working together for the culture of encounter and solidarity.

This reference, therefore, is not only a call for hope, but also aims to make the voice of the Church and that of Christian intellectuals heard in an increasingly secularized media scene, with the purpose of enriching it with constructive reflections. Seeking a positive view of people and facts, rejecting prejudices, it is a matter of fostering a culture of encounter through which it is possible to know reality with a confident outlook.

Without translation, different linguistic communities would be unable to communicate among themselves; we would close the doors of history to one another and negate the possibility of building a culture of encounter. In effect, without translation there can be no such hospitality; indeed hostility would increase. A translator is a bridge builder.

I have frequently called for the growth of a culture of encounter capable of transcending our differences and divisions. This means working to create a many-faceted polyhedron whose different sides form a variegated unity, in which ‘the whole is greater than the part’. The image of a polyhedron can represent a society where differences coexist, complementing, enriching and reciprocally illuminating one another, even amid disagreements and reservations. Each of us can learn something from others. No one is useless and no one is expendable. This also means finding ways to include those on the peripheries of life. For they have another way of looking at things; they see aspects of reality that are invisible to the centres of power where weighty decisions are made.

To speak of a ‘culture of encounter’ means that we, as a people, should be passionate about meeting others, seeking points of contact, building bridges, planning a project that includes everyone. This becomes an aspiration and a style of life. The subject of this culture is the people, not simply one part of society that would pacify the rest with the help of professional and media resources.

Social peace demands hard work, craftsmanship. It would be easier to keep freedoms and differences in check with cleverness and a few resources. But such a peace would be superficial and fragile, not the fruit of a culture of encounter that brings enduring stability. Integrating differences is a much more difficult and slow process, yet it is the guarantee of a genuine and lasting peace. That peace is not achieved by recourse only to those who are pure and untainted, since ‘even people who can be considered questionable on account of their errors have something to offer which must not be overlooked’. Nor does it come from ignoring social demands or quelling disturbances, since it is not ‘a consensus on paper or a transient peace for a contented minority’. What is important is to create processes of encounter, processes that build a people that can accept differences. Let us arm our children with the weapons of dialogue! Let us teach them to fight the good fight of the culture of encounter!”

You have experienced the urgently needed culture of encounter, which is the opposite of the throwaway culture now in vogue. This culture of encounter makes it possible for many voices to be heard around the same table, in order to dialogue, consider, discuss and formulate, in a polyhedral perspective, different aspects and possible responses to global problems involving our peoples and our democracies. It is not easy to move towards real solutions when those who do not think like ourselves are discredited, slandered and misquoted! Discrediting, slandering and misquoting are cowardly ways of refusing to make the decisions needed to solve many problems. Let us never forget that “the whole is greater than the part, but it is also greater than the sum of its parts”, and that “the mere sum of individual interests is not capable of generating a better world for the whole human family”.

Dear brothers and sisters, I offer an affectionate greeting to the people of the United States of America, shaken by the recent siege on the Congress. I pray for those who lost their life — five — they lost it in those dramatic moments. I reiterate that violence is always self-destructive. Nothing is earned with violence and so much is lost. I exhort the government authorities and the entire population to maintain a deep sense of responsibility, in order to calm souls, to promote national reconciliation and to protect the democratic values rooted in American society. May the Immaculate Virgin, Patroness of the United States of America, help keep alive the culture of encounter, the culture of care, as the royal road to build the common good together; and may she do so with all those who live in that land.

The health care community in particular, and society as a whole, offer a tremendous service to the common good when they help facilitate this process of personal integration for those who suffer from leprosy and their families. Not everyone will have the skills or expertise to cure Hansen’s disease physically, but everyone is capable of promoting that culture of encounter which brings about healing and the mental well-being of those affected by this distressing illness.

The continued global health crisis has painfully highlighted the urgent need to promote a culture of encounter for the whole human family, and for all men and women to be “passionate about meeting others, seeking points of contact, building bridges, planning a project that includes everyone” (Fratelli Tutti, 216). In this context, I especially welcome the efforts being made to respond to the opportunities and challenges that this poses for the world’s religions.

In our day, such an integrated approach to defending and promoting the rights of all is incumbent upon both political and religious leaders, for it is precisely a culture of encounter that can provide a basis to a more united and reconciled world. Only this culture, moreover, can lead to sustainable justice and peace for all, as well as genuine care for our common home.

As mankind continues to face the uncertainties and challenges of the present, I encourage you to remain committed to the search for new and creative paths leading to the growth of this culture of encounter, for the sake also of the concord and wellbeing of future generations.

He promoted a culture of encounter and dialogue, marked by wisdom, insight and breadth of vision. He knew that it is only in such a pluralistic and inclusive society, in which every person could live in freedom, peace and security, that a more just and fraternal world can be built.

As experts in finance and economics, you know well that trust, born of the interconnectedness between people, is the cornerstone of all relationships, including financial relationships. Those relationships can only be built up through the development of a “culture of encounter” in which every voice can be heard and all can thrive, finding points of contact, building bridges, and envisioning long-term inclusive projects.

This is the ideal of the new Jerusalem (cf. Is 60; Rev 21:3), where all peoples are united in peace and harmony, celebrating the goodness of God and the wonders of creation. To achieve this ideal, however, we must make every effort to break down the walls that separate us and, in acknowledging our profound interconnection, build bridges that foster a culture of encounter. Today’s migration movements offer an opportunity for us to overcome our fears and let ourselves be enriched by the diversity of each person’s gifts. Then, if we so desire, we can transform borders into privileged places of encounter, where the miracle of an ever wider “we” can come about.

We are aware that individual, self-centred and conflicting - but powerful - economic interests prevent us from conceiving of a food system that responds to the values of the Common Good, solidarity and the “culture of encounter”. If we want to maintain a fruitful multilateralism and a food system based on responsibility, justice, peace and unity of the human family is paramount.

This therefore means working simultaneously at two levels: cultural and institutional. At the first level, it is important to promote a culture of faces, which place at the centre the dignity of the person, respect for his or her history, especially if wounded or marginalized. And also a culture of encounter, in which we listen to and welcome our brothers and sisters, “with confidence in the reserves of goodness present in human hearts." At the second level – that of institutions – it is urgent to promote dialogue and multilateral collaboration, because multilateral agreements are better than bilateral ones at guaranteeing “the promotion of a truly universal common good and the protection of weaker states.” In any case, “let us not remain mired in theoretical discussions, but touch the wounded flesh of the victims.”

From the beginning of my pontificate, I have called the Church to make herself an “outbound Church” and a protagonist of the culture of encounter.

Dialogue is not synonymous with relativism. Indeed, society is all the more noble whenever it cultivates the search for truth and is rooted in fundamental truths (cf. Fratelli Tutti, 206-207), and especially when it acknowledges that “every human being possesses an inalienable dignity” (ibid., 213). Believers and nonbelievers alike can agree on this principle. On this basis, we are together called to promote the culture of encounter. “Let us arm our children with the weapons of dialogue! Let us teach them to fight the good fight of the culture of encounter!” (Fratelli Tutti, 217).

Marriage is an important part of the project of building the “culture of encounter” ( Fratelli Tutti, 216). Families are thus called to bridge generations in passing on the values that forge true humanity. New creativity is needed, to express, amid today’s challenges, the values that constitute us as a people, both in our societies and in the Church, the People of God.

Encounter is like the oxygen of life. This is why we need a culture of encounter, because “we, as a people, should be passionate about meeting others, seeking points of contact, building bridges, planning a project that includes everyone” (ibid., 216). This is the criterion that gives meaning to your daily commitment.

Synodality in processes implies a constant exercise of listening . Here too, it is necessary to learn to listen , which is not simply hearing . It is necessary to understand the view and reasons of the other, almost to identify with the other. As in other areas of pastoral care, a culture of listening, which is a prerequisite for a culture of encounter, must also be fostered in judicial activities. This is why standard answers to the concrete problems of individual persons are harmful.

I encourage you not only to deepen your understanding and appreciation of the intellectual and spiritual richness of our Catholic tradition, but also, and in a truly evangelical spirit, to cultivate the culture of encounter among yourselves and in the University community.

It is not enough to bring together professors and students from different backgrounds. It is necessary to develop a culture of encounter. And the university is certainly a privileged place to do this. Macerata was the birthplace of a great “champion” of this culture, Father Matteo Ricci. He was great not only for the things he did and wrote, but he is great because he was a man of encounters, a man of the culture of encounter, a man who went beyond being a foreigner; he became a citizen of the world because he was a “citizen of people”. This is the culture of encounter. And, certainly, the university is a privileged place for this encounter. Macerata was the birthplace of this great champion: I congratulate you because you not only preserve his memory and promote studies on him, but you also try to bring into the present his example of intercultural dialogue. How much need there is today, at all levels, to resolutely pursue this path, the path of dialogue! How the powers of the world are accustomed to the road of exclusion, to the culture of rejection! No, there is a need for dialogue, the path of dialogue.

Dear Ambassadors, you have a privileged role to play in this regard. You know all too well that war is always a defeat for humanity and runs contrary to the important service that you provide in trying to build a culture of encounter through dialogue and encouraging mutual understanding among peoples while also upholding the noble principles of international law. It is by no means an easy service but perhaps the situations of inequality and injustice that we are witnessing in our world today help us to appreciate your work all the more. Despite the challenges and setbacks, we must never lose hope in our efforts to build a world in which a sense of fraternity and mutual understanding prevail and disagreements are resolved through peaceful means.

Though the presence of more formal communities of the Catholic faithful in your country is fairly recent, and their numbers small but significant, the Church is fully committed to fostering a culture of encounter, in imitation of her Master and Founder, who commanded his disciples: “Love one another as I love you” (Jn 15:12). Let us strengthen our friendship for the benefit of everyone. Mongolia has a long-standing tradition of peaceful coexistence between different religions. It is my hope and prayer that this ancient history of harmony in diversity may continue in our own day through the effective implementation of religious freedom and the promotion of joint initiatives for the common good.

In this regard, a key theme is that of interpersonal relationships in the globalised and hyper-connected world. This is a key theme both on the human and social levels as well as on the ecclesial level, because all Christian life starts from and develops through person-to-person relationships. And by now, after the initial moments of euphoria over the new technologies, we are aware that it is not enough to live “online” or “connected”. We need to see up to what point our communication, enriched by the digital sphere, effectively creates bridges and contributes to the construction of the culture of encounter.

Finally, it is also a “path of renewal”, because the new realities of poverty require us to take care of people and our common home, and to be ready to walk the paths of the culture of encounter and charity, linking the local with the global, working from those close to us, but with a universal horizon (cf. Encyclical Letter Fratelli tutti, 142).

We are called today to live out and spread the culture of encounter, an encounter on an equal footing between migrants and the people of the host country. It is an enriching experience, inasmuch as it reveals the beauty of diversity.

It is a sign of the times we see in various Roman colleges, increasingly made up of mixed communities, no longer national but international. And this situation, which is due to the diminishing European presence, can become, if well managed, a source of human and formative richness. In this diversity you can better practice becoming “bridges”, serving the culture of encounter, capable of grasping in the other their peculiar originality, and at the same time, the common humanity.

We must therefore revive the culture of encounter from which we have benefited so much, and not only in the past. In this way it will be possible to rebuild a sense of fraternity, developing, beyond more just economic relations, also more human relationships, including those with migrants.

Walking together hand in hand to support one another and build a culture of encounter that leads to the conversion of hearts and inclusive societies, capable of unmasking stereotypes and protecting the rights of every person.

Your visit, which you have termed an educational pilgrimage, represents a privileged occasion for advancing the culture of encounter, in which we take the risk of opening ourselves to others, trusting that we will discover in them friends and brothers and sisters, and in the process learn and discover more about ourselves.