Dr. John C. Rao (professor of history at St. John’s University and Director of the Roman Forum), explains the topic for the 2017 Gardone, Italy Summer Symposium, “Setting Right a World Turned Upside Down: Transformation in Christ Versus a Sickness Unto Death,” which was deliberately left vague–to allow speakers to respond to any potential new alarming actions or pronouncements from the Vatican. He then reviews the themes from the previous year as underpinning for the current discussions.