Program

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Communication and evangelization:
context, attitudes and experiences

Rome, January 22-24 2025

 

Wednesday 22 January


14:00 Welcome

14:45  Welcome and greetings from the Rector

Introduction of the seminar
Gema Bellido, Organizing Committee of the XIV Professional Seminar

15:15  Inaugural keynote speech

Evangelization and contemporaneity. Guidelines for the communicative activity of the Church
Msgr. Rino Fisichella, Pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization

16:00 Break [time to move between classrooms]

16:15  Theologians and communicators in dialogue

[Three conversations at the same time - one in English, one in Italian and a third one in Spanish - to further develop some of the issues addressed in the inaugural conference]

The art of proclaiming. Reflections on 30 years of biblical itineraries [Italian with simultaneous translation]
Fabio Rosini (Theologian, author of spirituality) in conversation with Federica Bergamino (Professor of Anthropology and Communication)

Communication of the Gospel and the lay people [Spanish]
Pilar Río (Professor of Theology of the Sacraments and Ecclesiology) interviewed by Jesús Colina (Journalist, communications consultant)

Communication of faith and cultural mediation [English]
Paul O'Callaghan (Professor of Theological Anthropology) interviewed by Ashley Noronha (Communication Coach and founder of Truth & Beauty Project)

17:00 Break [time to move between classrooms]

17:10  Experiences

Group 1: The Hallow experience, a spirituality app at the top of the digital markets [Session in English with simultaneous translation]
Zac Crippen, International Director of @Hallow

Group 2: The experience of the Church in Argentina: economic transparency and programafe.org [Spanish]
Máximo Jurcinovic, Director of the Communications Office of the Argentine Episcopal Conference

Group 3: Creating a Catholic television in Uganda [English]
Sean-Patrick Lovett, Media consultant, Rome Reports TV News Agency

17:50  Break [time to move between classrooms]

18:00  Communications and experiences [two 20’ presentations in each classroom]

Group 1: Communication and evangelization. Contemporary contexts
Group 2: Communication and evangelization. Contents and attitudes
Group 3: Communication and evangelization. Experiences

18:45  End of the day

[19:30 Meeting reserved for the alumni of the Faculty of Communication of the Holy Cross]

 


Thursday 23 January

 

8.45  General sessions [English with simultaneous translation]

8.45 Evangelization and common good: an approach to be rediscovered
      R.J. Snell, Philosopher, Editor-in-Chief of Public Discourse

9:15 The economy of attention in an era of distractions. A communication perspective from Africa
      Ngozi Okpara, Professor of Ethics and Communication, Pan-Atlantic University of Nigeria

Introduced by: Walter C. Ihejirika, President of Signis Africa

9.45  Break [time to move between classrooms]

10:00  Parallel sessions

Roundtable discussion 1: The path of charity and service [Simultaneous translation]
Communication, charity, evangelization
Silvia Tolve, Executive Director of Mary's Meals
Inés San Martín, Vice President of Marketing and Communications of The Pontifical Mission Societies US
María Lozano, Director of the Press Office of ACN International

Roundtable discussion 2: The path to ecumenical and interreligious dialogue [Italian]
Dialogue, friendship and evangelization

[A conversation between three experts to understand the value of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue in communicating the Gospel]

11:00  Coffee break

11:45  Dialogues on the communication of faith

Option 1: The path of reason [In Italian with simultaneous translation]
Communicating God in a scientific and technological culture
Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti (Theologian, scientist and director of the DISF Research Center)

Option 2: The path of spirituality [Spanish]
Thirst for God, spirituality and some challenges in communicating the faith
Luis Romera (Philosopher, Pontifical University of the Holy Cross) in dialogue with Gema Bellido (Footprints research group: Young People: Expectations, Ideals, Beliefs)

Option 3: The path of institutional communication [English]
Church communication: many opportunities, and some traps
Pedro Gil (Communications Consultant, E Deus criou o mundo)

12.30  End of session

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

15:00  The path to healing

Dialogue 1: From dealing with abuse to personal healing [Spanish]
Irma Patricia Espinosa (psychiatrist, Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors) in conversation with Jaime Cárdenas (Pontifical University of the Holy Cross)

Dialogue 2: The proclamation of the Gospel in a world of wounds and wars [Italian]
Fr. Giulio Albanese (Comboni missionary, director of the communications office of the Vicariate of Rome) in conversation with Miriam Díez (Director of Blanquerna Observatory on Communication, Religion and Culture)

15:45  Break [time to move between classrooms]
 
16:00  Mini-talks

[Three short parallel conferences]

Option 1. Juan Manuel Mora: The path of joy [Spanish]
Option 2. Montse Alvarado: From the traditional media to the streaming culture: new opportunities [English]
Option 3. Ralf van Bühren: Art, a path to evangelization? [English]

16:30  Break [time to move between classrooms]

16:40  Communications and experiences [two 20' presentations]

Group 1: Screening of the documentary Follow that Bishop! on the venerable Fulton Sheen [In English, 28 minutes] Presentation with Antonio Olivié (CEO of Rome Reports) and Anneliese Taggart (Rome Reports journalist)
Group 2: Communication and evangelization. Contemporary contexts
Group 3: Communication and evangelization. Contents and attitudes
Group 4: Communication and evangelization. Experiences

17:30  The path of beauty

The artist Timothy Paul Schmalz and Cardinal Michael F. Czerny (Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development) interviewed by Juan della Torre (Founder and CEO of La Machi Communication for Good Causes).

* In addition to this session, it is possible to take part in a tour with the sculptor to visit some of his works in Rome and the Vatican, on Friday 24 January, from 13:00 to 15:00.

18:15  Keynote speech

The presence of the sacred in a visual culture
Joost Joustra, Center for Arts and the Sacred at King's College, curator of the National Gallery of Art
Introduced by: Nataša Govekar, Theological-Pastoral Directorate of the Dicastery for Communication

19:00  End of the day

19:30  Dinner

 


Friday 24 January

 

8:00  Holy Mass, Basilica of Sant'Apollinare (Celebration of Saint Francis de Sales)

8:45  Keynote speech

The communication professional: the corporate preacher
Anne Gregory, Professor Emeritus of Corporate Communication at the University of Huddersfield

9:30  The path of testimony [multilingual]

Round table discussion. Communicating holiness and the causes of canonization

[The promoters of three current causes of canonization in dialogue with communicators, to try to identify the effects of the testimony of holy people in their respective territories]

Jean Luc Moens (friend and biographer of the Rugamba-Mukasanga couple, martyrs of the Rwandan genocide)
[To be confirmed]
Santiago Callejo (postulator of the Venerable Ernesto Cofiño, Guatemalan paediatrician)
Moderator: Lorena Bianchetti (TV Presenter of RAI, A Sua immagine)

10:30  Coffee break

11:15  The path of events and popular piety

The path of events [simultaneous translation]
[Interview with the communications managers of three ecclesial events, including one of the Holy Father's last international journeys]
Moderator: Manuel Sánchez (ISCOM President, Professor of Media Relations)

The path of popular piety [Italian]
[Round table discussion with organizers and communication managers of popular faith events in different parts of the world]
Moderator: Veronica Giacometti (Journalist, Acistampa)

12:10  Break [time to move between classrooms]

12:20  The path of culture and entertainment

Option 1: The experience of a Theme Park in France [Multilingual]

Option 2: Books that turn into open conversations [Spanish]
Valentina Alazraki (journalist, author of Grecia e le altre. Donne di speranza contro la violenza or Un viaje al corazón de la fe) in conversation with Isabel Sánchez (author of Mujeres brújula and Cuidarnos)

Option 3: Experiences of communicating the faith in universities [English]
R.J. Snell (Academic Director of the Aquinas Institute for Catholic Life of Princeton University) in conversation with José María La Porte (University and Catholic Identity Project)

13:00  End of session

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

15:00  Practical masterclasses

[Seminar participants can choose one of the following masterclasses, for practical purposes]

Option 1: Media training experiences: faith and cameras [English]
By EWTN-Vatican TV correspondents

Option 2: Turning a story of faith into a quality video [Spanish]
Juan Martín Ezratty, producer and CEO of Digito Identidad Visual

Option 3: Addressing hot topics in public debates: a 4 steps model [Spanish]
Juan Pablo Cannata, director of Cultural Mediation and Social Affairs Project

Option 4: Priests and religious people on the internet: do's and don'ts [Italian]
Juan Narbona, Professor of digital communications

16:30  Break [time to move between classrooms]

16:40  The digital path

Session 1 [In French with simultaneous translation]
Turning dogmatic speech about sensitive issues into popular predication (what I have discovered thanks to my YouTube channel)
Fr. Paul-Adrien, Dominican priest, youtuber

Session 2 [Italian]
Evangelization and artificial intelligence
D. Luca Peyron (Humane Technology Lab, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore) in conversation with con Giovanni Tridente (Author of Anima digitale)

17:45  Final session [Aula Magna San Giovanni Paolo II]

[In the closing event we will discuss an emblematic case of Christian communication and culture]

18:30  Final farewell

Marco Carroggio, Organizing Committee

18:40  Group photo

 

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