by Duncan MacLaren

This book covers what has become a leitmotif in the papacy of Francis – the importance of fostering a ‘culture of encounter’ that, in the words of the author, Marcus Mescher, ‘aims to bring people together across differences, to celebrate diversity rather than fear it, to enjoy solidarity as life-togetherness, and to promote the common good’ (p. xiii). In Fratelli Tutti, published some months after this book, Francis mentions the word ‘encounter’ as a noun or verb 49 times. American academic Mescher’s book dissects what the culture of encounter entails, its relationship to solidarity, not as cliché, but as a profound life-transformation, and what it looks like, creating an ethical framework for encounter based on Scripture and Catholic Social Teaching.