Revolution in the Church? – a symposium in Jerusalem

The Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies and the Jerusalem Center for Jewish Christian Relations (JCJCR) organized a symposium in Hebrew in Jerusalem titled: “A revolution in the Church? The Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church and her attitude towards the Jewish people”.

The chairperson of the evening was Hanna Bendcowsky from the JCJCR, who introduced the theme and each of the three speakers, underling the important changes the Council had introduced.

The first speakers was Prof. Raymond Cohen, emeritus from the Department of International Relations at the Hebrew University who gave a general introduction to the Council. He underlined the context in which the Council took place in the early 1960s and the personality of Pope John XXIII.

The second speaker was Father David Neuhaus, Latin Patriarchal Vicar, who focused on the document “Nostra Aetate”, which defined the Church’s position on her relationship with the other religions and most important with the Jewish people. He also addressed the issue of how the document was accepted in the Church and particularly in the Church in the Arab world.

The third speaker, Dr. Amnon Ramon, researcher of Christianity at the Jerusalem Institute, spoke about the reactions to Nostra Aetate in the Jewish world and particularly in Israel. He also described the reactions to Nostra Aetate in the Israeli press.

The evening was very well attended and showed the importance of organizing such events in Hebrew in order to promote dialogue in Israel.