In his new book, Boston College alumnus Marcus Mescher presents an ethical framework for building what Pope Francis has called a “culture of encounter.” The Ethics of Encounter: Christian Neighbor Love as a Practice of Solidarity (Orbis Books, 2020) looks at this culture of encounter within an American context marked by rising individualism, racial tensions, class segregation, hyperpartisanship, and echo chambers online. Mescher, who earned his doctorate from Boston College, is an assistant professor of Christian ethics at Xavier University.