Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
August 9, 2000
Interfaith dialogue to build understanding
By Roxanne King
All are invited to attend a series of three interfaith dialogues featuring Catholic and Jewish speakers cosponsored by the Archdiocese of Denver and the American Jewish Committee. "Catholics and Jews: Understanding and Hope" will begin 7:30 p.m. Aug. 30 at the John Paul II Center refectory.
Featuring dynamic speakers, each session will include a question-answer period. The series is free and open to the public.
Topic for the first evening is "Current Issues in Catholic-Jewish Relations." Speakers will be Rabbi Gary Greenebaum of Los Angeles, a regional director of the American Jewish Committee, and Bill Beckman, inter-religious affairs officer for the archdiocese.
Succeeding seminars will be held 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26 at BMH-BJ Synagogue and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 16 at Church of the Risen Christ parish center.
Topic for the October session will be "Anti-Semitism and the Christian Bible," presented by Pamela Eisenbaum, Ph.D., associate professor of Biblical studies and Christian origins at Iliff School of Theology, and Father Peter M.J. Stravinskas, Ph.D., editor of The Catholic Answer.
Topic for the November session will be "How do Catholics and Jews Remember the Holocaust?" presented by Fred Marcus, a Jewish educator and Holocaust survivor, and Vivien R. Spitz, who served as a court reporter at a Nuremberg Nazi War Crimes Trial.
"This is an adult education program for Catholics to learn more about Judaism and for Jews to learn more about Catholicism," Beckman said. "Beyond its direct educational value, it is both a sign of improved Catholic-Jewish relations and an expression of one of the many kinds of collaborations that can happen between Catholics and Jews."
"We hope the series will dispel myths about each of the communities, we hope it will clarify issues the communities have with each other, and we hope it will build on recent statements made by the Holy Father and Archbishop Charles Chaput on reaching out to the Jewish community so we can work on building a better community together rather than separately," said Anita Fricklas, executive director of the American Jewish Committee in Denver.
An organizing committee, which includes representatives from both faiths, is also working on offering inter-faith programs for high school and elementary age youth, organizers said.
"The first session in the `Catholics and Jews' series will draw enormous energy from events of the past year in terms of Catholic-Jewish relations," Beckman said. "Two things in particular — the archbishop's letter to the Jewish community at the close of Hanukkah 1999 and the historic pilgrimage of Pope John Paul II to Israel in March 2000. It's hard to talk about the improvement and immense promise of Catholic-Jewish relations without looking at those two matters, one local and one international."
The second session will focus on efforts since the Second Vatican Council to reduce what could be perceived as anti-Semitic references in the Catholic liturgy, Beckman said.
"Likewise, in Scripture translations, efforts have been made to be accurate in translation but to avoid translations which could be construed as anti-Semitic. These efforts are made while remaining true to the original language and sense of the text," he said. "In other words, the Scriptures won't be altered."
The third session will be "the most personal and emotional of the three" as two speakers with personal experience of the Holocaust — one a Jewish refugee, the other a court reporter at the Nazi Doctors' Trial — share their recollections, Beckman said.
"Following the example set by Pope John Paul II in this Jubilee Year, this program offers an excellent opportunity for Catholics and Jews to grow in understanding and hope as brothers and sisters in the faith of Abraham," Beckman said.
"Catholic-Jewish relations are much improved — the communities are much more open to listening to each other and the groundwork has been laid by the leaders of the communities," Fricklas said. "Now it's up to the lay people to continue that work."
The John Paul II Center is at 1300 S. Steele St. BMH-BJ Synagogue is at 560 S. Monaco Parkway. Church of the Risen Christ parish center is at 3060 S. Monaco Parkway.
For information, call Bill Beckman at 303-715-3207.
