Over the course of 2022, its inaugural year, the Culture of Encounter and the Global Agenda Project took up the theme of global governance. Through essays, interviews, dialogues, and a conference in Rome, project participants reflected on the current global crisis—a key theme of Pope Francis’ encyclical Fratelli Tutti—and the importance of encounter and cooperation, across political and ideological divides, if our transnational challenges are to be met.
Since the start of his pontificate Pope Francis has called for a "culture of encounter" that bridges differences through a gradual process of dialogue and mutual recognition. Efforts to imagine and promote a culture of encounter on the global agenda face considerable hurdles. Intensified U.S.-China competition and the Russian war on Ukraine mark a transition to a less stable international system. In this working paper, Thomas Banchoff proposes that advancing a culture of encounter on a global scale will require diplomacy that recognizes political and ideological diversity and creatively navigates constraints posed by shifting power imbalances, historical legacies of colonialism and war, and domestic political opposition.
Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Vatican secretary for relations with states, delivered this keynote address at a conference on “The Culture of Encounter: An Imperative for a Divided World” held in Rome at Villa Malta on May 27-28, 2022. The conference was co-sponsored with La Civiltà Cattolica as part of the Culture of Encounter and the Global Agenda project.
Working Paper December 21, 2022
Speech Transcript May 27, 2022
April 4, 2022
April 4, 2022
Video Player
Two decades into the new century and emerging from a global pandemic, we face a new challenge: an increasingly fractured world divided along political, social, and religious lines. Over the course of his pontificate, Pope Francis has proposed a way forward out of this global crisis: the creation of "a culture of encounter" 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." A culture of encounter, however…
Through the COVID-19 pandemic Pope Francis has powerfully advocated for a culture of encounter to help bridge the divisions that increasingly plague our world. Only when we fully recognize our shared humanity and engage one another with humility, generosity, and patience—from the local to the international level—will we be able to address global challenges together. The ongoing Russian war against Ukraine underscores the importance of a culture of encounter as the most appropriate and legitimate…
Through the COVID-19 pandemic Pope Francis has powerfully advocated for a culture of encounter to help bridge the divisions that increasingly plague our world. Only when we fully recognize our shared humanity and engage one another with humility, generosity, and patience—from the local to the international level—will we be able to address global challenges together. The ongoing Russian war against Ukraine underscores the importance of a culture of encounter as the most appropriate and legitimate…
A signature contribution of Pope Francis's pontificate is the concept of a culture of encounter. Rooted in his experience as a Jesuit and as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, the concept emphasizes humility, generosity and patience as foundational for productive dialogue across cultural, religious, and political divides. In his October 2020 encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, Francis made an impassioned plea for a culture of encounter in a global society torn by the pandemic and increasingly fragmented along…
