The New York Encounter

A conversation on the erosion of trust in science and the price we pay, with David Brooks , New York Times editorialist, and Francis Collins , Senior Investigator, former Director of the National Institutes of Health Until recently science has been regarded as a human undertaking in which, to everybody’s benefit, an objective truth could be sought. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. The er...

The Bay Ridge Band LIVE in concert from New York Enjoy an uplifting evening of music ranging from spirituals to pop to jazz to originals, old and new, with the rich unique harmonies and arrangements brought to you by this exciting vocal ensemble Chris Vath , piano and vocals Molly Ronan , vocals Valentina Patrick , vocals Cas Patrick , vocals Riro Maniscalco , guitar, percussion, vocals Jonathan F...

This year Encounter’s questions through Fr. Giussani’s eyes, on the occasion of the publication of To Give One’s Life for the Work of Another with Michael Waldstein , Professor of New Testament, Franciscan University, Steubenville, OH Our Christian life, our faith, and our concrete morality, the set-up of our lives is determined either by current ideologies or by the factuality, the supremacy of o...

A face-to-face conversation with Bryan Stevenson , founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, moderated by Esmeralda Negron , assistant public defender “The individual is more than the worst act he/she committed.” This is one of Mr. Stevenson’s most famous and challenging statements. What journey brought him to this conclusion? Why would it be true and what implications would...

A presentation on gender theory and its social implications, with Abigail Favale , Dean of the College of Humanities, George Fox University, and Helen Joyce , executive editor for events business of The Economist , moderated by Holly Peterson , Principal of Nativity: Faith and Reason School in Broomfield, CO The so-called gender theory has caused widespread confusion and bewilderment. Thus, its co...

The Encounter opens with poetry and music, with Matthew Cossack , baritone, Andrea Domenici , jazz pianist, Radoslawa Jasik , classical pianist, and Vaneese Thomas , singer Our being—what the Bible calls “heart,” that is, courage, tenacity, shrewdness, effort—is a thirst for truth and happiness. There is no work, from the humble one of the housewife to the brilliant one of the designer, that can e...

Overcoming ideological divides in the political battlefield, with William Haslam , former Governor of Tennessee, and Dan Lipinski , former U.S. Congressman, moderated by Kimberly Shankman , Dean of Benedictine College, Atchison, KS The Encounter 2022 will explore how seeking the truth in any human endeavor, and loving it more than one’s own preconceived opinions, is essential in order to overcome...

A conversation on truth in journalism, with Patrick Radden Keefe , writer and investigative journalist, and Thomas Rosenstiel , former executive director of the American Press Institute, introduced by a tribute to the late Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci, by her personal assistant Elena Perazzini , writer, moderated by Brandon Vaidyanathan , Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Soc...

Stories of new beginnings with Mikel Azurmendi , sociologist, Carolina Brito , school principal, Fr. Dustin Feddon , founder of Joseph House, Matthew Laracy , founder of the Magnificat Home, Juan Tapia-Mendoza , founder of Pediatrics 2000 and member of SOMOS Community Care, and Gabriel Tunage-Cooper , resident at Joseph House, followed by concluding remarks by Julián Carrón , president of the Frat...

Witnesses on education during the pandemic with Damian Bacich , professor of Ibero-American Literatures, San José State University, Peter Fields , Ph. D. candidate in physics, University of Chicago, Rev. Edwin Leahy, O.S.B. , high school headmaster, and Michelle Ratti , teacher, moderated by Patrick Tomassi , high school teacher Education has been probably the single area where the pandemic was fe...

Seeking a truly human path to racial justice with Anika Prather , professor, Howard University, Eugene Rivers , Pentecostal minister, and Jacqueline Rivers , director of the Seymour Institute for Black Church and Policy Studies, moderated by Jonathan Liedl , journalist Many people in the US today are seeking ways to heal the wounds of racism and move forward. However, this requires traveling a nar...

An discussion on the “epidemic” of suicide and mental health issues in the time of Covid with Aaron Kheriaty , professor of psychiatry, Irvine School of Medicine, University of California, Jeremy McLellan , comedian, and Mary Townsend , assistant professor of philosophy, St. John’s University, moderated by Margarita Mooney , associate professor of Congregational Studies, Princeton Theological Semi...

A reflection on the Encounter's theme by Timothy Cardinal Dolan , Archbishop of New York

A roast of 2020 with comedians Vince Fabra , Jeremy McLellan , and Tom Shillue , and special guests Jeannie Gaffigan and Greg Iwinski , Emmy-nominated comedy writers, with music intermission by Andrea Domenici How can we joke about anything after 2020, a year that contained so much suffering and frustration? What does it mean to laugh in the face of hardship? Living through 2020, we experienced li...

Presentation of the exhibit "The Faith of Fr. Giussani" with Holly Peterson , school principal and exhibit curator, Archbishop Christophe Pierre , apostolic nuncio to the United States, and Barry Stohlman , entrepreneur and business manager. Watch this episode on YouTube.

An online dialogue recorded February 13th, 2021, on the Encounter theme with Paolo Carozza , professor of Law and Director of Kellogg Institute for International Studies, the University of Notre Dame, and Charles Taylor , philosopher and professor emeritus, McGill University The events of the past months have shattered our illusion of control and humbled pride. Have they also revealed something of...

Rethinking work, business, and economy in a post-Covid world, with Raghuram Rajan , the Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Ratna Sahay , deputy director, Monetary and Capital Markets Department, International Monetary Fund, and Stefano Zamagni , professor of Economics, University of Bologna and president of the Pon...

Presentation of a new book by Msgr. Lorenzo Albacete, priest, theologian, and former rocket scientist, with Stephen Sanchez , president of the Albacete Forum , and Lisa Lickona and Gregory Wolfe , editors of The Relevance of the Stars , a newly published collection of Albacete’s writings (read an excerpt published in Church Life Journal here!). Moderated by John Touhey , filmmaker, who will introd...

The 2021 Encounter opens with introductory remarks by Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa , Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and music played by Molly Morkoski , pianist, introduced by Chris Vath , composer What happened in 2020 changed and is still changing us. What is the nature of this change? Can this change be a milestone in the journey of life? Archbishop Pizzaballa has been living for decades i...

An Israeli and a Palestinian share their stories of reconciliation with Bassam Aramin , Palestinian Co-Director of The Parents Circle Families Forum and Robi Damelin , Israeli spokesperson for the Parents Circle Families Forum, moderated by Marta Zaknoun , journalist The Parents Circle – Families Forum ("PCFF") is the only association in the world that does not wish to welcome any new members into...

A face-to-face encounter with Sr. Mariae Agnus Dei, SV and Sr. Virginia Joy, SV , Sisters of Life, and Fr. Richard Veras , director of pastoral formation at St. Joseph’s Seminary, Yonkers, NY John Cardinal O’Connor founded the Sisters of Life because he understood that the Christian response to the culture of death is more than correct arguments; what is needed are lives offered to Christ to witne...

How the discovery of our common humanity can shatter racial ideology with Daryl Davis , musician and public speaker, and Christian Picciolini , author, moderated by Jonathan Fields , composer An African American blues musician who engages with members of the Ku Klux Klan. The former leader of a white-supremacist skinhead group who has left hate behind. A surprising dialogue on crossing the divide...

A conversation about the journey of the late-Frank Simmonds with Rita A. Simmonds , wife and author of Convicted by Mercy: The Journey of Frank Simmonds from the Streets to Sanctity , and Lawrence E. Sullivan , professor emeritus of theology and comparative world religions, University of Notre Dame Professor Sullivan called Frank's story “a parable for our age” plagued by racism, drug addiction, a...

A conversation on the Encounter’s theme in light of Where is God?: Christian Faith in the Time of Great Uncertainty (McGill-Queen’s University Press) by Fr. Julián Carrón with Fr. Julián Carrón , president of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, Ami Dar , founder and executive director of Idealist.org, and Aaron Riches , professor of theology at Benedictine College, moderated by Fr. José Me...

A concert with Andrea Domenici , jazz pianist, and Radoslawa Jasik , classical pianist Music is the coin. Jazz and classical are brother and sister, they have more than something in common but they also have their own identity. A “live experience” with Radoslava Jasik and Andrea Domenici.