50 Years of Jewish-Catholic Dialogue

On Thursday evening, Oct. 18, Israel’s immediate past ambassador to the Vatican, His Excellency Mordechay Lewy, lectured on the topic “50 Years of Jewish-Catholic Dialogue.”

In his lecture, Ambassador Lewy commented that the Second Vatican Council’s document, Nostra Aetate, “brought a historical rapprochement with Judaism which is a revolution.” The ambassador pointed out that Nostra Aetate, which recognizes the historic roots of Christianity in Judaism, has no formal doctrinal status in the Church. Nevertheless, he expressed satisfaction that Pope Benedict XVI has emphasized its centrality as a Church teaching repeatedly throughout his career. Lewy warned “we must be alert to be sure that Nostra Aetate remains a central teaching of the Church,” which is not a given. He noted that the document also shows favor to Muslims.

The lecture, which marked the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, was held at the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS). It was co-hosted by the Milstein Center for Interreligious Dialogue at JTS and the John Paul II Center of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome. The lecture was moderated by Rabbi Jack Bemporad, director of the Center for Interreligious Understanding. Bemporad is a long-time leader in Jewish-Catholic relations. [more]

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