^ Top of the Page

The Initiative sponsored a series of half-hour television programs on current issues which were produced by Golden Dome Television at Notre Dame University. R. Scott Appleby and Cathleen Kaveny, Initiative committee members who are on the Notre Dame faculty, are the hosts. Each session includes some roll-in footage about the issue and a studio discussion among people of different views. They are good discussion starters in small groups.

^ Top of the Page

Daniel Yankelovitch. The Magic of Dialogue. Simon & Schuster. New York, 1999.
Writing from the perspective of a social scientist, Yankelovich gives examples of dialogues that "work" and from them draws fifteen strategies for dialogue.

Harold H. Saunders, "Five-Stage Process of Dialogue," Laity in the Church and in the World. United States Catholic Conference. Washington, DC, 1998. pp. 79-105.
Mr. Saunders writes from long experience in ecumenical dialogue. He discusses "Sustained Dialogue"—over a long period of time—and the resource it can provide both within and between congregations. His insights are both wise and practical.

Leonard Swidler, "A Dialogue Decalogue." (www.global-dialogue.com) This early articulation of learnings from ecumenical dialogue continues to provide helpful insights. Dialogue within the Catholic Church, however, must also take into account the appropriate hierarchical authority.

Deborah Tannen, The Argument Culture. Random House. New York, 1998. A socio-linguist looks at the American tendency to use argument as a way to resolve disputes. Written in a popular style with concrete examples, Tannen points out the pervasive warlike atmosphere of American life and its relationship to media, legal disputes, political discourse, and gendered speech. The last chapter is entitled, "The Roots of Debate in Education and the Hope for Dialogue." This is not about "how to dialogue;" rather, it shows "why we need to learn to dialogue."

The Public Conservations Project sponsored a dialogue among six women, three pro-choice leaders and three pro-life leaders, over a six year period in Boston. The story of that dialogue and helps to do dialogue are on their website: www.publicconversations.org

^ Top of the Page

Ecclesiam Suam, Paul VI. This 1964 encyclical is a sustained reflection on dialogue and it is the first use of the term in church documents.

Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions (Nostra aetate). The Vatican II document which launched dialogue with other religions.

Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et spes). The last major document of Vatican II, this pastoral constitution broke new ground when it advocated dialogue with the contemporary world.

^ Top of the Page