Cavalletti Conferences And Follow-Up Conferences
[Note: A more detailed analysis of the conferences follows in the next text.]
From 1984 to 1997, there have been eight Cavalletti conferences, as well as two Cavalletti-like conferences in the United States, each focused on aspects of the theology and communication conversation.
1983 Cavalletti I: Theology and communication: general approaches.
1984 Cavalletti II: Fundamental theology and communication. How might communication study and research inform the basic grounding of theology? What kinds of basic questions for theology could communication address?
1985 Cavalletti III: Philosophy and communication. Objectives: to examine various approaches to communication philosophy (philosophy of language, explorations of meaning) as a foundation for seminary courses attuned to the role of communication.
1988 Cavalletti IV: Moral theology and communication. Does the media world have an impact on moral theology? How might moral theologians take advantage of media products or of the work of communication scholars?
1988a Marquette University Conference on moral theology and communication. This follow-up conference addressed the same themes, bringing together additional scholars.
1988b Santa Clara University Conference on communication & U.S. Church. This conference approached the communication, theology, and culture questions from the perspective of the Church in the United States and seminary training. The conference originated as a way to reproduce the fruits of the Cavalletti conferences in other locations.
1989 Cavalletti V: Ecclesiology and communication. What might communication study teach us about the organizational structure of the Church? More specifically, participants were to “focus on current developments in ecclesiology and the significance of new conceptions and new cultural patterns of communication for ecclesiology and for the life of the Church” (Granfield, 1994, p. v).
1991 Cavalletti VI: Foundations for a Theology of Communication. Objectives for the conference: (1) work toward a systematic synthesis regarding the theology of communication using Nos. 1-18 of Communio et Progressio as a point of departure; (2) prepare a book presenting some of the major themes of a theology of communication and a commentary on that theology; (3) exchange ideas on teaching communication and theology.
1993 Cavalletti VII: The New Image of Religious Film. How does film contribute to religious meaning? What historical trends appear in the use of religious themes in the cinema? Can theology contribute to film criticism? This conference brought together members of the International Catholic Organization for the Cinema (OCIC) and theologians.
1997 Cavalletti VIII: Media, religion, and popular culture. How does popular culture express religious images, themes, and sensibilities? [This is the first of the Cavalletti-like conferences, held not at Villa Cavalletti, which the Jesuits had sold, but at another retreat center located across the lake from Castel Gondolfo.]
2007 Ariccia IX: Rethinking theology and ministry in the light of today’s developments in communications. A summary conference which considered most of the major issues. (See further information in the Ariccia conference section).