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A communication era ended in the U.S. Catholic Church recently; American bishops voted at their Chicago meeting to close down the church’s satellite system and to begin a strategic planning effort to discern current telecommunications needs and how to respond to them. It is probably appropriate for the church to "re-engineer" its communication efforts, similar …
Continue reading “A New Era in Catholic Church Communication”
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I. Dialogue as the Key to the Ecclesiology of Communion The theological understanding of the Church allows for a wide range of emphases. This is shown in the history of the Church and in ecclesiology. History reveals a direct connection between the image of the Church that may be predominant at any given time and …
Continue reading “Dialogue as a Model for Communication in the Church”
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An essential component of human organization, from religious communities to constitutional democracies, public opinion depends on public expression and public assembly. Today we speak and assemble in ways unknown to past generations of theologians, political leaders, and social theorists. Our forums have changed: Some have disappeared; others have arisen. Our small Town Hall debates and …
Continue reading “Forums for Dialogue: Teleconferencing and the American Catholic Church”
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On a foggy morning in Berlin a taxi dropped me at the Brandenburg Gate. Tears came to my eyes as I felt communion with people who had struggled to participate, to unite. I had been part of it through the mass media. For many, the fall of the Berlin Wall remains a symbol of hope …
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For almost a decade the debate has been inconclusive: Does the electronic church lure members away from the local church or does it encourage them to attend more regularly? Does it take money away from local churches, or does it further overall giving? Is it an evangelistic tool or does it merely reach the already …
Continue reading “Religion and Television: Report on the Research”
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Television’s revolutionary impact on culture is scarcely understood yet, and in any case it is only the precursor of the greater electronic-media revolution to come. One phase of that revolution with dramatic implications for Christian faith and institutions is perhaps months away: commercial production of the laser video-disc. To assess some of the potential impact …
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Few clergy or laypeople trust radio or TV ministries. These ministries are thought to be manipulative, theatrical, phony and often built around ego-centered clergy. Commonly one sees signs of a “messianic complex” when watching or listening to electronic church ministers. When invited to become the fourth minister of the First Radio Parish Church of America …
