The Ethics of Encounter: Christian Neighbor Love as a Practice of Solidarity

Presented here is an ethical framework for the “culture of encounter” that Pope Francis calls us to build. The book serves as a creative and constructive proposal for what it would take to build such a culture in an American context marked by rising individualism, racial tensions, class segregation, hyperpartisanship, and online echo chambers. In particular, the work of well-known Jesuit Father Greg Boyle (Tattoos on the Heart) and his work with gangs in Southern California provides a case study for overcoming fear, hatred, and trauma in order to practice Christian neighbor love that seeks solidarity.