Freedom’s Meaning: this month’s New York Encounter examines an idea that is both cherished and deeply divisive in American culture.

New York City Cultural Event 

Will Explore Freedom’s Meaning

BY CARL BUNDERSON

An organizer for the New York Encounter, a three-day cultural festival held in January, says this year’s theme of “Experiencing Freedom” is an idea both cherished and deeply divisive in American culture.

“What is it that defines this mysterious thing which we call freedom, which for us as believers is the ultimate reflection of the experience of God himself that’s been given to us as creatures?” reflected Maurizio Maniscalco, the event’s chairman.

“Freedom is the territory where not even God intervenes in our life,” which makes its experience a “pretty compelling thing,” he told Catholic News Agency in a Jan. 9 interview.

The New York Encounter will be held Jan. 18-20 in Midtown Manhattan and is the third annual installment of the event. It is free and requires no registration.

The encounter is organized by the Catholic ecclesial movement Communion and Liberation and by Crossroads Cultural Center. 

The center aims to explore the relationship between religion and culture and was founded by members of the Communion and Liberation movement.

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Read more: www.ncregister.com

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http://www.crossroadsculturalcenter.org/home/

• New York Encounter 2013: "Freedom Is the Most Precious Gift that Heaven Has Bestowed upon Men" (Miguel De Cervantes)
  January 18, 2013
  NEW YORK -Opening remarks by Msgr. Lorenzo Albacete accompanied by witnesses and a poetry reading

  With Msgr. Lorenzo Albacete and Tony Hendra
• New York Encounter 2013: Freedom in Politics: The Story of Shahbaz Bhatti
  January 19, 2013
  NEW YORK - A eyewitness account of the life and death of Shabaz Bhatti, the murdered Pakistani Minister for Minority Affairs

  With Paul Bhatti
• New York Encounter 2013: Faith, Soul of Life
  January 20, 2013
  NEW YORK - A reflection on Christian experience in light of Benedict XVI’s writings for the Year of Faith

  With Fr. Peter J. Cameron and Fr. Julián Carrón
• New York Encounter 2013: Desire, Liberty, and Satisfaction
  January 20, 2013
  NEW YORK - A witness by John Waters, IRISH TIMES columnist, on his life-journey from desire to addiction and back to freedom

  With concluding remarks by Maurizio Maniscalco