The Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding (CCJU) of Sacred Heart University sponsored its second annual Institute for Seminarians and Rabbinical Students on June 4-6, 2001. The event took place on the University's Fairfield campus and gathered 25 future religious leaders from the Jewish and Christian faiths to study and discuss the advances made in Christian-Jewish dialogue over the last 35 years, and to explore possibilities for future progress. 

Rabbi Joseph H. Ehrenkranz, executive director of the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding, said that the Institute was an inspiration to him. “This was an excellent opportunity for Jewish and Christian seminarians to really study with each other and get to know each other. I am convinced that such efforts will help us all to secure a future of peace and understanding,” he said. 

David L. Coppola, Ph.D., director of conferences and publications for the CCJU, who facilitated the Institute, said that the conference “again attracted international, national and local leaders who gave presentations and interacted with the students. We began with a basic trust in each other to speak the truth of each tradition respectfully and to present each side honestly and authentically. The result was an excellent three days where the students participated in a positive experience of interreligious understanding. Now they can build on this network and draw support from one another in their work and ministry. The CCJU is delighted to be a part of this process.” 

The Institute was inspired by the Catholic Church's vision presented in the 1965 Vatican II document, Nostra Aetate, which repudiated historic Christian teachings of contempt towards Jews and positively asserted the ongoing validity and common spiritual heritage that Christians and Jews share. The CCJU offers this Institute as one vehicle to promote interreligious dialogue, education and understanding among future religious leaders. All costs for meals and overnight accommodations, speakers, books, articles and materials for the Institute were underwritten by the Roxe Foundation, Leo Van Munching Jr., and the CCJU. 

Students attending the Institute came from Blessed John XXIII National Seminary, Weston, Massachusetts; Hebrew Union College—Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles; Jewish Theological Seminary, New York City; Mount St. Mary's Seminary. Emmitsburg, Maryland; Pontifical North American College, Vatican City; St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania; St. John Seminary, Brighton, Massachusetts; and Saint Mary's Seminary and University, Baltimore. Many of the students commented how much they appreciated the informative and moving sessions which gave them a good basis for interfaith and interpersonal dialogue. 

Presenters at the Institute included Dr. Anthony J. Cernera, president of Sacred Heart University; Dr. David L. Coppola, director of Conferences and Publications of the CCJU; Rabbi Joseph H. Ehrenkranz, executive director of the CCJU; Rabbi Irving (Yitz) Greenberg, president of CHAverlim kol yisrael/Jewish Life Network, New York; Rabbi James Rudin, president emeritus American Jewish Committee, New York; Dr. Eugene Fisher, associate director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C.; Reverend Nancy Cox, associate pastor of Trinity Episcopal Church, Southport, Connecticut; and Father Daniel Murphy, pastor of Blessed Kateri Parish, Sparta, New Jersey. 

Conference Summary

Day I
The Institute began with welcoming remarks by Anthony J. Cernera, Ph.D., president of Sacred Heart University, who spoke of his years growing up in the Bronx where many of his friends were Jewish. He said that later in high school he read Viktor E. Frankl's book, Man's Search for Meaning, and was profoundly moved. He resolved that if he ever had the chance, he would try to prevent such events as the Shoah from happening again. Dr. Cernera said, “Thankfully, the recent journey of the Catholic Church begun with the efforts of Pope John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council's document, Nostra Aetate, has cultivated a climate where Catholic universities are encouraged to promote interreligious and ecumenical dialogue. The CCJU at Sacred Heart University is one of the best things we do as a university, and I believe these next few days will give you a new perspective and hope for the future. I know that I am a better Christian because of my friendships with Jews, especially Rabbi Joseph Ehrenkranz.” 

The keynote address was delivered by Rabbi Irving (Yitz) Greenberg, president of CHAverlim kol yisrael/Jewish Life Network of New York City. He affirmed that a fundamental starting point in interreligious dialogue is acknowledging that all people are created in the image of God and are endowed with equality, uniqueness and infinite worth. He said, “Every life is worth a universe. God is not looking for miracles, just partners in love.” He continued, “The things we love are of infinite value. They are people. Love makes us all equal, even to some degree with God. God chooses to self-limit in favor of love. Paradoxically, love that self-limits is, in fact, just the opposite of limitation—it is being open to Love, the Infinite, the Unlimited One.”

Rabbi Greenberg spoke of Judaism and Christianity and how both have models of heroic spirituality. He spoke of the Triumph of Life as told by each tradition and how the power of story is found when we discover our place in it. He continued, “We are the result of billions of years of moving toward God—being made in God's image more and more. . . . The story of the Triumph of Life as told by Jews and Christians and Muslims is from chaos to order (creation); from non-life to life (covenant); and from being less to being more like God (redemption).” 

Rabbi Greenberg said that he believes that God offers multiple messages that are appropriate to different people. He suggested, for example, that Christians can now confidently affirm that most of the Jews at the time of Jesus were not blind or stubborn, as some Christian teaching of the past had taught. Similarly, from a Jewish perspective, Judaism could affirm that a small group of Jews were meant to hear the message of Jesus and carry it to the Gentiles. 

When asked about intra-religious dialogue, he said, “I've spent a lot of my life searching for an open dialogue. There are many people of good will who are eager to participate. The difficulty is that the closer one is in religious beliefs to another, the more angry one could become about those minor differences.”   

Discussion also focused around the challenges of pluralism and some people's temptation to uncritically move to relativism. Rabbi Greenberg said, “God adores uniqueness and diversity. The story is not finished, and we need to be open to resurrection—which is a central rabbinic teaching—and how God calls us all to new life. There will always be differences, and one of the great things about authentic dialogue is that we do not have to feel in any way compelled to dilute our beliefs.” 

Day II
The following morning session and discussion on the history of the Christian-Jewish relationship was facilitated by Rabbi James Rudin, president emeritus of the American Jewish Committee, New York. 

Rabbi Rudin began by describing Jewish-Christian history: “It's not that we've been so good the last 36 years, it's just that things in the last 1900 were that bad.” He noted that “there will always be flash points between these two peoples of God because we both have long memories, and our histories bump into each other all the time. . . . After the Holocaust, things were either going to break down completely or there was going to be a breakthrough. Fortunately, 20 years after the end of the war—which is not a long time in Jewish or Catholic time—a breakthrough happened in Nostra Aetate.” 

Rabbi Ruddin suggested that the initial unfinished agenda for the joint study of history between Jews and Christians is the roots of Christianity, the parting of the ways between Jews and Christians, covenant, the Gospel of John, justice, life issues, liturgy, and accurate educational programs. He said, “Each religion has to make theological space in the Divine economy, and we have to see how that space reveals more of the truth of our past and future.” 

The afternoon session of the second day was led by Eugene Fisher, Ph.D., associate director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. Dr. Fisher spoke about the importance and challenges of Holocaust education and how Pope John Paul II has tried to work actively for healing between Christians and Jews. 

Dr. Fisher said that there has been significant anti-Judaism in Christianity since its early days, which resulted in many Christians thinking that they were supposed to try to convert Jews. He noted that the 1965 Vatican document, Nostra Aetate, really “started the conversation” by referring to Judaism in the present tense. He said, “This began our journey from supercessionism to respect and understanding. Christian theology now teaches that Jews can be saved by their own merits because God's grace is enough. Jews are already with the Father, and they walk a path that parallels the followers of Jesus. In effect, Cardinal Walter Kasper [president of the Vatican's Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews] has made this clear by saying that there is no explicit mission of the Church to the Jewish People. Instead, Jews and Christians together have a mission to the world.” He continued, “The Vatican's Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews is deliberately led by the same commission that concentrates on Christian unity, ecumenism. As far as Catholics are concerned, the dialogue between Christians and Jews is not interreligious dialogue but ecumenical relations. . . . Because of Christians, over a billion people today have come to know the God of Abraham.” 
When questioned about forgiveness and the Vatican's use of the Hebrew word, teshuva [a turning away from wrong and returning to a right relationship] towards the Jewish people in the 1998 We Remember document, Dr. Fisher said that the process of Jewish forgiveness is different from that of Catholic forgiveness. He said by using the word, Catholic leaders wanted to show that they were making a sincere effort to communicate a deep and profound sorrow for the wounds of the Shoah. 

Some discussion followed on the role of Pope Pius XII at the time of the Shoah and the deficiencies and misleading assertions of John Cornwell's 2000 book, Hitler's Pope. Dr Fisher concluded by saying, “The main challenge in Christian-Jewish dialogue is trusting that the other is doing the best that he or she can within his or her tradition.

Dialogue requires trust and willingness to respect differences and also the courage to challenge where there has been misunderstanding or wrongs committed. As I mentioned in the article [“Catholics and Jews Confront the Holocaust and Each Other” in America Magazine (September 11, 1999)], American Jews and Catholics, despite significant progress after Vatican II in Catholic-Jewish relations, strongly differ in their approach to history, scriptural texts, the papacy, the Church, the Shoah. But when Jews critique Christians and their statements, they are actually treating Christians with the same respect they show their own texts and scholars. This may seem difficult to appreciate at times, but it is a sure sign that our friendship will continue to grow deeper.” 

The evening of the second day, Reverend Nancy Cox, associate pastor of Trinity Episcopal Church, Southport, Connecticut, made a presentation on the interreligious implications of ministering to Generation X (those born in the years from 1961-1981). She outlined some of the contradictory characteristics of Generation X. She said Generation X people tend to be individualistic, yet they highly value relationships; they do not respond well to authority, yet they long for instruction or mentoring. Additionally they tend to be skeptical, but pragmatic. They may be slow to commit to something, but are passionately dedicated; apathetic, but care deeply; relativistic, but search for deep meaning; and are disillusioned, but are not giving up. 

Reverend Nancy Cox discussed the challenges of relativism and how to invite this age group to reach more deeply into their faith traditions, especially at moments of transitions such as marriage, the birth of a child or the challenges associated with illness. She said that both Jews and Christians have the responsibility of being prophetic and standing up for social justice issues—a value held in high esteem by Generation X. “The challenges of secularization in society, postmodernism and consumerism make it difficult enough to reach out to this group. But they are generous and willing to work with others outside their normal religious boundaries—especially if it helps those in need. This is good news for Jewish and Christian faith communities. If we can give this group a good reason to come to our services, such as provocative and engaging preaching and good liturgy, then they will stay after services—especially if the coffee is good. They will also come back mid-week if we provide opportunities for the whole family to participate in interesting discussions or practical efforts at community service.” 

Day III
On the final day of the Institute, the morning session was conducted by Father Daniel Murphy, pastor of Blessed Kateri Parish, Sparta, New Jersey, who spoke about the educational and liturgical possibilities in interreligious relations on the local level. Father Murphy said that he believed it had been “providential” that such a close relationship between Christians and Jews has been able to take root in Sparta, New Jersey—once considered a haven for Nazi sympathizers during the Second World War. He said, “My faith has really grown because of my relationships with other clergy members, especially the local rabbis.”

When asked how to begin a dialogue on a local level, Father Murphy said that the first thing was to build a friendship and a trust between the communities. He shared an ironic story where a rabbi came to speak to the Catholic congregation during their liturgy, which was being held in an Episcopal Church because the Blessed Kateri Church had not yet been built. “Now that was real interfaith cooperation,” he said, smiling. 

“The second step to building a strong interfaith dialogue group is to be educated together,” Father Murphy said. He continued, “We began by asking Rabbi Leon Klenicki, interfaith affairs director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in New York, for suggestions and he facilitated a number of study groups that focused on the Hebrew Scriptures on its own terms. After a while, by educating ourselves and being open to the faith journeys of each other, we realized that it was time then to share our experiences with our congregations and begin to have educational panels and participate in different liturgical services.” Father Murphy also said that it was a “wonderful moment of confirmation for our efforts” when a Jewish benefactor approached him and asked if his parish community would establish in its prayer garden a memorial for Righteous Gentiles, so that people would remember the Holocaust. Father Murphy said, “The garden is now a wonderful place to pray, not only because of its beauty and proximity to the Eucharist Chapel, but also because of its reminder that prayer requires us all to never forget and never fail to act with justice.” 

As the Christian-Jewish group has met more frequently, they have organized semi-annual faith forums (panel and discussion groups) on “hot topics” such as the Holocaust, as well as informational themes such as God, worship, prayer, morality and marriage. They also hold an annual Holocaust memorial service, which has changed over the years as the group has grown in trust and understanding. All of these programs have been videotaped and aired on local cable stations.
 
The group also participates in social justice activities such as providing food for the hungry, supporting homeless shelters, sharing pulpits, sharing educational experiences for children, and supporting each other's communities in times of tragedy. “By working together, we realized that we had much in common, and we could accomplish a great deal of good. For example, through our joint efforts, the schools have agreed not to have graduations on Friday evenings or sports practices on Sunday mornings,” he said.

Concluding Session
At the final luncheon of the Institute, the students were joined by members of the CCJU Board of Directors who listened as many of the seminarians and rabbinical students shared their experiences of the Institute. 

One Jewish participant said that he was surprised that the program offered such real and honest dialogue. He said, “This program certainly raised my sensitivities and wasted no time getting to issues. In particular, this has been a very important, moving experience for me to get to know Catholic seminary students personally, as real people, with many of the same concerns as I have. It was also very significant and interesting to have the opportunity to interact with my fellow Jewish participants.” 

Another Jewish student commented, “The readings, combined with presentations, helped me to think deeply about my own faith and theology. The small number of participants was perfect because I enjoyed having experts at the highest levels of dialogue willing to speak with me and answer my concerns.” 

A Christian student said, “I feel that it is important to highlight how much Jews and Christians have in common. Yet where we differ, I am confident that these future rabbis will try to understand as I will sincerely try to understand their beliefs. For example, I would like Jews to appreciate a Christian understanding of forgiveness. To be able to forgive and to seek peace of heart does not mean we need to forget, but it does mean to begin to trust and to let others in.” 
Another Christian student said, “The program was extremely well thought out. The presentations were diverse, yet they all hung together in a way that culminated appropriately in a pastoral approach to interreligious dialogue on the local level. To tell you the truth, it went well beyond my expectations. I have had misconceptions and prejudgments erased and came to encounter people of deep faith. Most helpful was the encounter of persons from different faith traditions seeking to communicate with each other through the faith they have in God.”

All the participants agreed that the personal discussions that followed each presentation were invaluable. A Jewish student put it this way: “Because of our unscheduled conversations, I think my new Catholic seminarian friends realize that Judaism is diverse, and not all Jews think or worship the same way, and that Judaism today is not the same as that which was practiced during the time of Jesus. Modern Judaism is not the religion of the Old Testament but the religion of the Mishna/Tanach.” 

A Christian student agreed, “I felt the program was well-conceived and well-executed, with deep sensitivity and care—especially with plenty of free time to have informal conversations. I have come to experience something of the pain left in the Jewish people from the Shoah, and the responsibility I have to hear of the event from the Jewish people's perspective. I would highly recommend this program. It has sparked an interest in dialogue for me that I will foster in my ministry.” 

Father Michael Moynihan, pastor of Saint Michael's Parish, Greenwich, Connecticut, and chairman of the CCJU Board of Directors, said, “When you begin your ministry in your parishes or synagogues, reach out to the other religious leaders in your area. If the first person you reach out to rejects you, then move on to the next. There are plenty of people who believe that this is God's work and it is God's will that we all cooperate in His name.” 

Rabbi Ehrenkranz said that his faith as a Jew has been broadened because of his relationship with Christians. He said, “I have come to appreciate Judaism even more by working with Christians, and I hope that you can take this experience home with you and incorporate it in your ministry and your lives.” 

The next Institute is scheduled for June 3-5, 2002, at Sacred Heart University. For more information or to register, please contact Dr. David L. Coppola, director of conferences and publications, at 203-365-7592 or email coppolad@sacredheart.edu. 

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