AJC And Saint Leo College Inaugurate Center For Catholic/jewish Studies With Gala Dinner Event And Two-Day Symposium On Teaching The Holocaust

American Jewish Committee
Wednesday, 17 February 1999

The American Jewish Committee and Saint Leo College are launching a joint national interfaith project, beginning with the official inauguration of the Center for Catholic/Jewish Studies on Sunday, February 21.

The Center, established by AJC and Saint Leo, a Catholic college, will be housed on the college's main campus in Pasco County, Florida. It will sponsor a wide range of interreligious programs, publications and study, bringing together academics, religious leaders and others from around the country in an effort to promote greater understanding of Catholic and Jewish traditions through dialogue on issues of concern to both faith communities.

The idea for a joint Center originated fours year ago with Rabbi A. James Rudin, AJC's interreligious affairs director, and the Most Rev. Robert N. Lynch, bishop of the diocese of St. Petersburg. In February 1998, Saint Leo and AJC co-sponsored a major conference on bioethics, featuring prominent speakers from the religious, medical and legal communities.

"The establishment of the Center for Catholic/Jewish Studies further advances our long-standing commitment to promoting positive dialogue and building stronger bridges of cooperation and mutual respect between the Catholic and Jewish communities," said Bruce M. Ramer, AJC national president.

Saint Leo College President Arthur F. Kirk Jr. noted: "Saint Leo is pleased to be a strategic partner with the American Jewish Committee on this important project. Such a joint effort is totally in keeping with our mission to develop programs that advance interfaith relations and also provide a unique and enriching learning opportunity for our students."

On Sunday evening, February 21, AJC and Saint Leo will host a gala dinner event to formally announce the Center, including an address by Leon Bass, an African American liberator during the Holocaust, an art exhibit entitled "Rescuers: Portraits of Moral Courage in the Holocaust," and a musical performance featuring the compositions of composers who perished in the Theresienstadt concentration camp. Also at this opening celebration, the Center will pay special tribute to Professor Jan Karski of Georgetown University, a Polish diplomat during World War II later honored by Israel as a "righteous gentile," a distinguished scholar and author, and a past recipient of AJC's highest honor, the American Liberties Medallion.

For the next two days, Monday, February 22 and Tuesday, February 23, the Center will sponsor a major national symposium on "Teaching the Holocaust: Catholic and Jewish Perspectives."

Among the topics addressed: "The Roots of Christian Anti-Semitism," "The Holocaust in History," "The Impact of the Holocaust on Christian-Jewish Relations," and "Confronting the teaching of Contempt." Concurrent workshops will also be held to aid elementary and secondary schools, colleges and universities in teaching the Holocaust.

Among the distinguished educators and religious leaders addressing the conference will be The Rev. Michael McGarry, Director Designate, Tantur Center of Ecumenical Studies, Jerusalem, Israel; Dr. Michael Marrus, Professor of History, The University of Toronto; and AJC's Rabbi Rudin.

"The Holocaust is the greatest catastrophe of the 20th century," said Rabbi Rudin. "This conference is a step in the right direction for Catholics and Jews to come together and create a universal message of how to properly teach, commemorate, and remember the Holocaust as we educate the next generation of leaders who will take us into the 21st century. Indeed, this conference and this Center will make a positive contribution in the critical and ongoing work of interreligious relations."

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org