The them of this year’s New York Encounter — “Who Am I That You Care for Me?” — is drawn from Psalm 8 and is meant to speak to the widespread longing for belonging that cannot be met by models of “diversity, equity and inclusion” nor technological solutions like social-media influencers or the metaverse. / New York Encounter
New York City, N.Y., Feb 16, 2023 / 12:45 pm (CNA).
Manhattan hosts many large events that draw massive crowds. But when the New York Encounter comes to the borough’s bohemian Chelsea district each year, even the custodians who clean the venue before and after can feel that something’s different — often telling volunteers how distinctively positive the “Encounter” seems.
Organized by members of the Catholic ecclesial movement Communion and Liberation (CL), the New York Encounter is an annual cultural event that focuses on the elements of truth, beauty, and goodness in human thought and culture. Free and open to the public, it draws thousands of attendees each year for three days of stimulating discussions, interactive exhibits, and even cultural events, such as poetry recitals and live musical performances. Sunday Mass alone, which will be celebrated by Cardinal Seán O’Malley of Boston this year, typically brings over 1,500 participants.
Among the many interesting panel discussions this year will be a conversation on the current situation in Ukraine with Archbishop Borys Gudziak, the archeparch of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia. There will also be a panel discussion with scientists from the James Webb Space Telescope about its discoveries. A panel on forgiveness also features Diane Foley, mother of journalist Jim Foley, publicly beheaded by ISIS.
This year’s installment of the Encounter will take place Feb. 17-19. As it is every year, the Encounter is organized around a central theme, chosen for its relevance to the current cultural moment. For instance, during the coronavirus pandemic, the theme had to do with loneliness and isolation.
This year’s theme — “Who Am I That You Care for Me?” — is drawn from Psalm 8 and is meant to speak to the widespread longing for belonging that cannot be met by models of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” nor technological solutions like social-media influencers or the metaverse.
“I yearn for someone who is not uncomfortable with my brokenness, put off by my failures, or embarrassed by my sadness,” reads the Encounter’s description of this year’s theme.
“Someone who values my deeper questions, who is certain of the meaning of life and walks with me to meet it. Someone who knows me and, inexplicably, really cares for me.”
‘This way of being together’
Some discussions and events from the New York Encounter will be livestreamed, a holdover from the height of the pandemic. But past participants and organizers say that virtual participation misses out on one of the most distinguishing features of the Encounter: community and a sense of belonging.
“The first time I went to the Encounter was when my sister asked me to come and volunteer,” said Patrick Tomassi, a teacher from Portland, Oregon, who recalls that it was “an incredible experience.”
“There was this way of being together that was so striking and new to me. The people I volunteered with had come from all over the U.S., many of whom I am still friends with today.”
Communion and Liberation was founded in Italy by Servant of God Father Luigi Giussani in the 1950s. CL members, who live in 90 countries, strive to find the presence of Christ in all things.
The New York Encounter, the movement’s premiere event in the United States, has been taking place for 13 years. CL members hold a similar event in Spain, called “EncuentroMadrid,” and one in England, called “London Encounter.” These events are inspired by “The Meeting,” CL’s original public cultural event that has been taking place annually in Rimini, Italy, since 1980. Over the past several years, the “Meeting” has grown to 4,000 volunteers and 800,000 people participating.
Though the New York Encounter is organized by members of CL, Catholics from many different groups — or none at all — attend.
“We have people coming from Opus Dei, Schoenstatt, the Neocatechumenal Way, the Sisters of Life, the Missionaries of Charity. When you see this, you get a sense that the Church is alive,” said Tomassi, who noted that non-Catholics also attend, drawn by the conference’s focus on thought and culture as a place where humanity’s God-given desire for goodness, truth, and beauty shines forth.
‘Unafraid of reality’
As a whole, the New York Encounter takes its bearing from a quote of Pope Benedict XVI, that “the intelligence of faith has to become the intelligence of reality.”
“This is a very enigmatic statement, which means that faith in Christ generates a new person who looks at all of reality differently,” Tomassi explained. “This new person is able to be unafraid of reality because everything that is made is loved by God. We believe that all of reality is God’s.”
Pope Benedict XVI had a long-standing relationship with CL. In fact, after his recent death, it became more widely known that consecrated CL women, known as Memores Domini, had been living in his household at the Mater Ecclesiae monastery within the Vatican walls for years. Their names are Cristina, Carmella, Loredana, and Rosella. Another, Manuela, was killed after being struck by a car in 2010. Pope Benedict XVI made a public statement about it at the time, lamenting the tragic death of a dear member of his household.
“Pope Benedict was very close to Don Giussani. One of his last major events before becoming pope was to preach at Don Giussani’s funeral,” Tomassi said.
In honor of CL’s friendship with Pope Benedict, the first panel discussion, on Feb. 17, will feature poetry, music, and discussion in memory of Pope Benedict XVI, with Cardinal O’Malley as one of the panelists.
Carlo Lancellotti, a math professor at the City University of New York and member of CL’s organizing committee, explained the mission of the Encounter as “trying to learn without preconceptions.”
For CL members, the deeper one goes in their relationship with Christ, the more one becomes open to the world.
“We develop more interest in life and what is happening in the world. Everything has meaning,” Lancellotti said. “The most natural desire is to discover new things, but also within the truth of faith. The encounter with Christ makes us open to life.”
A broad appeal
Not all of the panelists at the Encounter are Catholic.
“The idea is to find people who are experts in their field because we are open to reality. We are open to having true encounters with people whom we may not agree with,” said Fiona Holly, a librarian from Wichita, Kansas, and member of CL.
“When we invite someone to be on a panel, we want someone who helps us look at reality and see more of what’s there, more than what we normally encounter,” Tomassi added.
Another part of the New York Encounter’s mission is, according to St. Paul’s suggestion, to “test everything and retain what is good.” Conversations and exhibits at this year’s Encounter treat a myriad of topics, such as the value of work, geology, hospitality, and the implications of rising inflation.
Past speakers have included Sohrab Ahmari, previous op-ed editor for the New York Post; Christine Emba, writer for The Washington Post; Francis Collins, former director of the National Institutes of Health; and David Brooks, New York Times op-ed columnist.
In 2020, a panel discussion took place with Daryl Davies, who has convinced members of the Ku Klux Klan to leave their organization, and Christian Picciolini, a former Neo-Nazi who tries to help people leave white supremacist groups, which Tomassi recalled as particularly impactful.
A similarly powerful panel will take place this year, titled, “You Will Never Succeed in Convincing Me to Hate You.” It will feature Diane Foley, the mother of Jim Foley, a journalist who was publicly beheaded by ISIS, and Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzabolla, the Latin patriarch in the Holy Land; a Ukrainian refugee will also participate in this discussion.
Another presentation this year will focus on Servant of God Father Emil Kapaun, a priest known for his heroic care for others in a POW camp in North Korea during the Korean War. A recorded testimony will be given by a survivor of the prison camp who knew Father Kapaun.
CL families from around the U.S. attend the Encounter with their children. In addition to food and exhibits, there is a “Kids’ Village” where parents can engage in art, singing, crafts, and storytelling with their children. For children over 6, there are guided tours of all the exhibits especially geared toward their age group. On the second floor is the “Infinity Lab” for children 10 and older to recreate the stone sculpture on Chartres Cathedral. Children will learn how to make a bas-relief using plaster and wood, which they can take home.
“When people come, they see that there is something for everyone,” Holly said.
To learn more about the New York Encounter and view livestreamed events, please visit the event’s website.
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Very revealing.
What a racket this whole thing has been from the start.
Lord, grant me patience but hurry.
I feel that if we all in the Catholic Church focus on Jesus Christ and His teachings we will better prepared to meet HIM in the end.
Synodity will pull our focus from HIM and focus on politics of the church organization.
Just saying
Would we expect less from this Vatican?
We read today on X Cardinal Paglia’s attempt to provide positive spin to the Olympic sacrilege. We read today read today at another Catholic website unwilling to publish my comment “…synodality, a novel theological concept…”
Just these two occurrences are indicative of serious ecclesial derangement.
Synodality is project to eviscerate Roman Catholicism of its core substance while retaining the brand, the perks and whatever is left of its cultural influence. Stroll back in time and see if any faithful bishop or layman anticipated this “development” in 1965. Only the closeted Marxists.
This project termed “synodality” is not a theological concept in actuality. It is a political movement masked in an Orthodox practice mutilated in order to provide some sort of apostolic cover to a boldly disingenuous enterprise.
The results of a deleted poll are an accurate snapshot of the “sensus fidelium” which required erasure if the project were to retain any credence. The actual “sensus fidelium” undermines the foundation of this masquerade. The stats reporting weekly Mass attendance and the absence of belief in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist are a poll, are the real “sensum fidei” which cannot be ignored or erased. A sizable portion, the majority of the baptized, don’t believe. Structural alternations in the administration of the Church are meaningless and impotent for the salvation of souls. The energy given to synodalism had best be diverted to actual accurate catechesis of youth and the evangelization of adults.
Synodalism is a disingenuous afront to the faithful, and above all to our Lord, Jesus Christ.
We read: “This project termed ‘synodality’ is not a theological concept in actuality. It is a political movement masked in an Orthodox practice mutilated in order to provide some sort of apostolic cover to a boldly disingenuous enterprise.”
Yes, rather than a concept like a real synod, instead cross-dressed as a “style.” As in corporate boardroom proceduralism–or the style–of just moving things along. With Marshall McLuhan, the “medium [process] IS the message [or concept].”
Peter – Who said: “This project termed ‘synodality’ is not a theological concept in actuality. It is a political movement masked in an Orthodox practice mutilated in order to provide some sort of apostolic cover to a boldly disingenuous enterprise.”
Thanks!
Right. I see it now, in James’ comment.
It is clearly the Freemasonic Entreprise to liquidate the Catholic Church, erecting a Superlodge in its place which can be subsumed into the system.
Right. Weinandy at The Catholic Thing sees sins against the Holy Spirit among the Paris Olympian revelers at the Herodian-style Last Supper masquerade. The lie and the farce of Synodality, as you say, does likewise affront the goodness of God. May he have mercy on us.
Pardon me, but I can’t help compare the Vatican Synod Office to Nazi Germany’s Ministry of Propaganda and Public Enlightenment. Unfortunately for the Synod Office truth can be troublesome. Folks aren’t enlightened.
But thanks to Catholic Faith Technologies, a Kansas based management resource for parishes the Synod has a scapegoat, the scurrilous bad boy US Catholic Church. Business is business and so we carry on. As expected the Synod recommendations will be going forward to be implemented in parishes.
God bless you Father for making a bold and necessary comparison. Strong language is needed to try and shake up someone at the Vatican. Among my prayers is that I wish someone, with the opportunity, would only read the riot act to Francis at a one on one meeting.
Edward, if you recall, Capuchin theologian Fr Thomas Weinandy wrote the equivalent of a riot act letter to Pope Francis that was ignored, and resulted in his dismissal from his position as theologian consultant to the USCCB. We may have reached the point when someone might personally determine to confront him as you say.
Catherine of Siena traveled to Avignon to personally convince Pope Gregory XI [born in France] to return the papacy to Rome [apparently he had made a personal vow to return the papacy to Rome that Catherine was aware of, and she reminded him]. She castigated him and questioned his manhood. She eventually succeeded in convincing him. A similarly impassioned woman [we men seem to defer more easily to women. With all due propriety I might add there are a couple of gals that write on this site that would qualify] might have more success than a cardinal or bishop. Although I personally doubt anyone will succeed in convincing Francis from changing his agenda.
This is almost, but not quite – funny.
Surprising? No.
The current Vatican crew proves once again that bad news is no news…all about marketing, spin and Francis ever since they butchered the Vatican danged good reference site and turned it into a marketing machine for Francis.
Perhaps someone with more knowledge would be able to answer my question–is the internet, specifically social media, something that people in Africa (outside of the big cities), Asia (especially China, which is Communist), the Middle East, and South America (outside of the big cities) have easy access to? It sounds like the supporters of synodality thought the survey sounded like “North America”–well, of course it does, since even toddlers in the U.S. have social media accounts and it makes sense that the majority of the surveys were filled out by Americans and other countries with a huge online presence by the people! But is the rest of the world as “online” as those of us in the U.S.? (Disclosure–other than online forums like this one, I am not involved with any social media.) I honestly do not know the answer to this question–for all I know, every African, even those living in a primitive setting, uses social media. Thank you to anyone who can answer my questioN!
Internet censorship in China (do this search)
our major adversaries do not have freedom of the press and unfortunately, we’re headed that way as well due to suppression
“Everyone, everyone, everyone.”
Except for 88.1 percent of the faithful.
Figures.
Every leftist is motivated by envisioning himself as possessing greater levels of “compassion” not only of others, but of the whole of prior history. Their conceit will not allow them to even contemplate that there is no compassion without suffering with the suffering, everyone among the suffering. Were they to do so, they might reexamine their pretenses.
Not surprised, in this age or”relative truth” even the Church resorts to selective truth. Not that polls should be used at all. The Church is NOT a democracy and should not be governed by majority assent.
James, you’re obviously not in favor of Synodolatry then, eh?
Contemptuous Vatican bureaucrats.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of Mises’ epic tome Bureaucracy.
From the introduction:
“The terms bureaucrat, bureaucratic, and bureaucracy are clearly invectives. Nobody calls himself a bureaucrat or his own methods of management bureaucratic. These words are always applied with an opprobrious connotation. They always imply a disparaging criticism of persons, institutions, or procedures. Nobody doubts that bureaucracy is thoroughly bad and that it should not exist in a perfect world.”
However, Catholic Faith Technologies Vice President Jonathan Lewis offered a different take on the online poll, arguing that the results said more about respondents than synodality.
“Based on the top comments and poll results, this post reiterates the reality of North American resistance to synodality compared with the global Church,” Lewis said on X.
It’s always great to hear from one of my superiors.
Do share any data you have on synodality’s popularity around the world, Mr. Lewis.
It sounds like they can’t handle the truth.
What is astounding is that 12% actually buy into synodality. That’s 1 poor Catholic in ten who still have not understood the difference between Catholicism and Bergoglio’s Cancel-Culture.
The conversion of the faithful will always be based on clarifying our path to Jesus Chrit. It does not come by turning from Tradition or established doctrine. The SonS is not present an opportunity for greater holiness or faithfulness. It is something else.
Now the entire Church can get the message of the venomous disrespect that this pontificate has held for Catholics who are Catholic for eleven years.
Anti-Synodaling of the common man must be suppressed for sake of a Synodaling Church.
Synodal-ai-EEE-whooo!
Who?
Not me, say we Catholics in the pews.
I guess the proponents of a “Listening Church” only really mean listening to opinions that reinforce their predetermined biases.
In a way, an honest synod would be a good thing, a prelates only synod, as they’re meant to be. But it would have to be honest, non-cowards only. A synod of prelates united in telling Francis what damage he has done to Catholic witness, and it must stop!
Like Terrence said, I also laughed with the 88.1. % at the idiocy of synodality- but the error of grave sins in heterodoxy is too appalling.
For “Yodeler” Brineyman herein, thx for the “lol”:
“Don’t-know-who” a while ago on this CWR stream shared/coined the definition of “SIN-NOD”- but “it fits”!!
Apparently, the Pope doesn’t understand that like Hell, the internet is forever.
Somehow I don’t think that the comment section was mistakenly deleted.
How ANTI-synodal of them.
I first heard “SIN-NOD” from Raymond Arroyo on EWTN’s World Over Live, many years ago well before COVID-19.
It sure is proving a NOD in the direction of SIN.
Hey there it also proves EWTN is cutting edge and up to mark to Mother Angelica’s honour and the Church’s -against all the naysayers.
We had “synodalism” introduced in our Archdiocese late 1990’s and the lodge boys who got invited would say they had to go “sigh nod” and fulfill their duty.
Ride Posse!
‘ “They repeat very often that it’s a pastoral direction. And so they say, we want to avoid the confusion, though they said many things, which only made bigger confusion,” Cardinal Zen noted. ‘
https://www.ncregister.com/cna/cardinal-zen-discusses-his-new-book-for-lent-and-concerns-for-the-church
I am accused of not following the “Hermeneutics of continuity” when criticizing the “Fiducia supplicans”!?
https://oldyosef.hkdavc.com/?p=2043