|
|
 |
|
WINTER 2007
"Wings of Peace" Award
CCJU Honors Pope Benedict XVI at the Annual
Nostra Aetate Awards Ceremony
FCC Commissioners Recognized for Justice On Behalf of the Common Good
The Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding of Sacred Heart University held its 12th Annual Nostra Aetate Awards Dinner on November 29, 2007. The dinner celebrated the presentation of the Nostra Aetate Award to Pope Benedict XVI on September 5th in Rome for his leadership in promoting understanding between Catholics and Jews. CCJU also honored Federal Communications Commissioners Michael J. Copps and Jonathan S. Adelstein with a new award, the Tikkun Olam Award, for their work to place the media and its many benefits at the service of the common good. The event was hosted by Sacred Heart University president, Dr. Anthony Cernera, CCJU executive director, Rabbi Eugene Korn and CCJU chairman of the board, Mr. Vincent Roberti at the Park Avenue Synagogue in New York.
Nancy Pelosi, Vincent Roberti, Dr. Anthony Cemera
The Nostra Aetate Award is named for the 1965 Vatican II declaration that overturned centuries of hostility between the Catholic Church and Judaism and signaled an historic new era of dialogue and mutual understanding between Christians, Jews and all peoples of good will. For the past twelve years, CCJU has annually recognized one Jew and one Catholic whose leadership has significantly advanced improved relations between Christians and Jews worldwide. To recognize the broader mission of doing justice by making the world a better place, CCJU introduced the Tikkun Olam Award to honor individuals whose work in the secular world exemplifies the Jewish understanding that each human being has a responsibility to become a partner with God by improving society.
CCJU presented only one Nostra Aetate Award this year to emphasize Pope Benedict XVI's singular stature in healing the wounds between Christians and Jews and for making Catholic-Jewish dialogue and improved relations a high priority for the Vatican and for him personally. Among his first papal trips abroad following his election (as the 265th pope) on April 19, 2005, Pope Benedict visited the synagogue at Cologne (August 2005) and the Nazi death camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau (May 2006). Benedict XVI is only the second pope in modern history to visit a synagogue. The first was Pope John Paul II who visited the Great Synagogue in Rome in 1976. During a special ceremony at the Cologne synagogue, Benedict XVI said, "The terrible events of that time must never cease to rouse consciences, to resolve conflicts, to inspire the building of peace." The Pope was referring to the Nazi destruction of the Cologne synagogue during the Kristallnacht pogrom in 1938. Twenty-seven years after his predecessor Pope John Paul II visited Auschwitz as a son of the Polish people, Pope Benedict XVI stood at Auschwitz as a son of the German people. In a reverent and moving reflection in front of the Birkenau memorial, the Pope said, "To speak of this place of horror, in this place where unprecedented mass crimes were committed against God and man, is almost impossible – and it is particularly difficult and troubling for a Christian, for a Pope from Germany." Conceding that much progress has been made to improve relations between Catholics and Jews, the Pope urged, "Much still remains to be done. We must come to know one another much more and much better." A CCJU delegation of U.S. bishops and rabbis presented His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI with the Nostra Aetate Award as special guests at a public papal audience at the Vatican on September 5, 2007. The presentation of the award culminated a study tour to Poland and Rome (September 2-7, 2007) to promote theological, historical and spiritual understanding between the traditions. The tour included five American bishops and two Orthodox rabbis as guests of Rabbi Eugene Korn and Dr. Anthony J. Cernera.
 The 12th Annual Nostra Aetate Awards Dinner also honored Federal Communications Commissioners Michael J. Copps and Jonathan S. Adelstein with the Tikkun Olam Award. Tikkun Olam is a Jewish precept and concern for literally "repairing the world" by making it a better place. According to Jewish tradition, each human being has a responsibility to become a partner with God and complete God’s creation by improving society. Mr. Vincent Roberti presented the Tikkun Olam Award to two-term commissioners, Copps and Adelstein in recognition of their work to place the development of the media and its many benefits at the service of the common good. Referring to Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter to Those Responsible for Communications (2005) and the mission of cultivating full participation in the media for all, Commissioner Copps remarked, "The communications issues that Jonathan and I work on are so important. Bringing the wonders of broadband and the Internet to all our people is make-or-break for America. Underline the word “all” there – because each citizen in this land, whether they are rich or poor, living on a remote farm or in the inner city, healthy or part of a disabilities community, is entitled to access the tools of advanced telecommunications both as an economic matter and, I believe, as a civil right."
Among the more than 230 guests attending this year's Nostra Aetate Awards Dinner, CCJU welcomed the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Senator Charles Shumer (D, NY), Congressman Ed Markey (D, MA), MTA Director, Mr. Dale Hemmerdinger, and New York State Deputy Secretary for Public Safety, Senator Michael Balboni.
Jonathan Adelstein, Dr. Anthony Cernera, Vincent Roberti, Rabbi Eugene Korn
***
CCJU executive director, Rabbi Eugene Korn, Ph.D.,
publishes The Jewish Connection to Israel, the Promised Land.
The Jewish Connection to Israel, the Promised Land (2007) by CCJU executive director, Rabbi Eugene Korn, Ph.D., illumines the importance of Israel for Jews while addressing topics of particular importance to Christians, including the existence of Israel and modern Christian identity, the Jewish return to Zion as a strengthening of Christian sacred history and a deeper understanding of the common spiritual heritage between Christianity and Judaism. Dr. Eugene J. Fisher, director emeritus of Catholic-Jewish Relations, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, says of the work, "Delivers on its promise. Highly readable, it should be on the shelf of any Christian interested in understanding the Jewish People." And Dr. Anthony J. Cernera, president of Sacred Heart University, calls the book "...a very worthwhile project. It lays the foundation for continuing dialogue between Jews and Christians by chronicling the biblical roots of Judaism, and situating the hopes, dreams, and experiences of contemporary Israel within context of the Promised Land."
The Jewish Connection to Israel, the Promised Land is published by Jewish Lights Publishing. Copies can be ordered at www.jewishlights.com
***
CCJU Hosts Consortium of Holocaust Educators on January 20-21, 2008.
The Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding of Sacred Heart University will welcome The American Friends of the Ghetto Fighters Museum's Holocaust Education Consortium on January 20-21, 2008. Twenty-five leading holocaust educators working in Christian, Jewish and public schools in the United States and Israel will provide workshops for teaching the Holocaust to SHU faculty and students in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Elizabeth Farrington School of Education on Monday, January 21st from 9:00 – 11:20 AM at Sacred Heart University Cambridge Campus. For more details on the workshops, please call CCJU at 203-365-7592. In collaboration with the Jewish Community Center of Eastern Fairfield County, the consortium will host a film screening and discussion on The Darfur Project, two short documentary films produced by students at Danbury High School under the direction of Danbury assistant principal and SHU alum, Mr. Tim Salem. The Darfur Project will be presented on Sunday, January 20th from 1:30 – 3:00 at the JCC at 4200 Park Avenue, Fairfield, CT. The event is free and open to the public. Please confirm your reservation with Vivian Rockmacher at 203-372-6567 (ext 127) or vivian127@jcc.org
***
CCJU Welcomes Dr. Judea Pearl to Sacred Heart University on February 4, 2008.
Dr. Judea Pearl, father of slain Wall Street Journal Reporter, Daniel Pearl, will speak on conflict in the Middle East and ways to improve Jewish-Muslim relations at the Edgerton Center for Performing Arts of Sacred Heart University on Monday, February 4, 2008 at 7 PM. For Dr. Pearl, the critical importance of dialogue and peaceful relations between Muslims and Jews carries deep personal meaning. While on assignment in Pakistan in 2002, his son, Daniel, was abducted by Islamic extremists who later videotaped his brutal execution. Transforming their grief into the mission to promote peace and dialogue, Dr. Pearl and his wife, Ruth, established the Daniel Pearl Foundation in 2002 "to continue Daniel's life work of dialogue and understanding and to address the root causes of his tragedy." The Foundation sponsors journalism fellowships aimed at promoting honest reporting and East-West understanding, organizes worldwide concerts to promote inter-cultural respect, and sponsors public dialogues between Jews and Muslims to explore common ground. Dr. Pearl is a Professor of computer science at UCLA and is known internationally for his contributions to artificial intelligence, human reasoning and the philosophy of science. The Judea Pearl Lecture is co-sponsored by the Student Affairs Department at Sacred Heart University. For tickets to the event please contact the Student Life Office at 203-371-4846.
CCJU Staff
Rabbi Joseph H. Ehrenkranz, Director Emeritus
Rabbi Eugene B. Korn, Ph.D., Executive Director
Ann Morrow Heekin, Ph.D., Director of Programs and Publications
Guillaine Dale, Assistant to the Directors
Joan Jackson, Office Secretary
|
Monthly newsletter of the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding
The Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding of Sacred Heart University seeks to contribute to the creation of a world of greater respect, cooperation and peace by educating Christians and Jews for a dialogue that is based on knowledge and truth about God and one another. The Center promotes scholarship, trains future religious leaders, educates teachers and leaders of parishes and synagogues, and serves as a leader in promoting Christian-Jewish understanding in the United States and throughout the world. |
Previous Page
Back to Newsletters
Next Page
|
|