Democracy and the Culture of Encounter

The Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at USC and the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University are co-sponsoring a day-long convening of scholars and an afternoon public event on Friday, February 20, 2026. Two leading scholars of democracy and two leading Catholic thinkers will discuss key themes from Catholic teaching under Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI, Francis, and Leo XIV as resources for thriving human societies: solidarity, democratic institutions, social friendship, human dignity, and especially encounter. 

If you are in the Washington, DC area on February 20, please consider joining us! RSVP here required if attending. Event also recorded and will be posted to IACS website soon.

The event represents another step in IACS’s special partnership with Commonweal Magazine. In addition to primary sponsors IACS and the Berkley Center, the event is co-sponsored by the Democracy Initiative and the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life (both at Georgetown University), and is made possible through the support of the Henry R. Luce Foundation.