Meeting of committee for Relations with the Jews

Seven members of the Committee for Relations with the Jews, working under the auspices of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land, met at Apostolic Delegation in Jerusalem on Friday, June 8, 2012. The members of the committee include representatives of the different parts of the Catholic Church, named by the various Ordinaries: Rev. David Neuhaus SJ, Latin Patriarchal Vicar for Hebrew speaking Catholics and Migrants in Israel, Rev. Yuhanna Bshouty, Greek Catholic parish priest of Jdeideh, Rev. Rafic Nahra, of the Hebrew speaking Vicariate and Maronite Church, Deacon Sobhy Makhoul, Maronite Archdiocese, Sister Reem Obeid SJA, representative of the Union of Women Religious, Ms. Margaret Karram, Focalari Movement and Mr. Wadie Abunassar, public affairs advisor. Father Badie Elias OFM was unable to be present.

The first part of the meeting was an exchange with H.E. Archbishop Antonio Franco, Apostolic Nuncio in Israel and Apostolic Delegate in Palestine. The commission members were able to hear how the Nuncio sees the dialogue with the Jewish people in the light of the reality of the Church in the Holy Land. The Nuncio warmly encouraged the members of the commission to commit themselves to this important project.

In the second part of the meeting, the members of the commission continued to pursue ways to promote the dialogue with the Jews from the particular reality of the Church in the Holy Land. They committed themselves to continue studying the documents, which define the Church's position on dialogue with the Jews. They agreed to hold a joint two day retreat in order to deepen their study and discussion.