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"A Dynamic Partnership Between Jews and Catholics..."

Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies Newsletter
June 2008
In This Issue
CCJS Plans for the Future
Clarification of Easter Prayer
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June 2008    
Greetings,

The Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies has had an exciting and enriching spring. We are looking forward to new opportunities to serve the cause of interfaith dialogue in the summer and fall months. We thank you for your interest and support of our work. 
 
Warmly,
 
Thomas Poynor
Assistant Director
CCJS Board of Directors Plans for the Future  
The Board of Directors of the Center for Catholic-JewishCCJS Symbol Studies (CCJS) recently held its annual meeting on the campus of Saint Leo University.  In attendance were a selection of university students from the undergraduate and graduate theology programs.  Carmen Cayon, a graduate of the Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies program, gave a beautiful presentation on the religious symbolism and theological significance of the Grand Synagogue in Florence, Italy.  Ms. Cayon's presentation was based on her original research for a course she completed on Catholic-Jewish relations. The course, titled  "Abraham's Tent: Christians and Jews in Dialogue," was developed and taught by Saint Leo professors, Dr. Tyson Anderson and Linda Taggart, Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors for CCJS. The course was underwritten in part by a grant from the Center for Catholic Jewish studies.
 
In addition to these exciting opportunities to join theological and interreligious education for a diverse student population, the Center also shares faculty and staff with Saint Leo's Graduate Theology Program in the academic formation of Catholic deacons throughout the region.  This relationship with future Church leaders is a tremendous opportunity to realize the mission of interfaith understanding and respect.     
  
Among other business, board members discussed new opportunities in leadership and exciting new projects for the future.    
 
AJC Welcomes Clarification of Easter Prayer   
Rabbi David Rosen, International Director of InterreligiousRabbi Rosen Affairs for The American Jewish Committee, expressed satisfaction with the recent Vatican clarification regarding the Good Friday prayer for the conversion of Jews to Christianity.1 
 
The revised prayer, which is part of the liturgy celebrated according to the 1962 Roman Missal, has been the occasion of a recent interruption of Catholic Jewish dialogue.      
   
The AJC was among those who called for a clarification regarding the meaning and implications of the prayer and its retention in the Latin liturgy after so much progress in Catholic Jewish relations in the forty-two years since the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions (Nostra Aetate).
 
The official clarification was sent to the Chief Rabbis of PalladiumIsrael by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's Secretary of State.  It contained the earlier clarification issued by Cardinal Walter Kasper, according to which the prayer expresses an eschatological hope and has no practical implications for historical Catholic Jewish relations.2
 
Rabbi Rosen expressed his acceptance of the theological clarification of the prayer saying, "We too have our dreams and prayers relating to the Messianic Age, but as long as these do not seek to undermine another's religious identity in the here and now, these should not be an obstacle to close relations and collaboration."       
 
 
 
Please see our Web Page for more information about the work and activities of the Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies and our collaborating partner, The American Jewish Committee, as well as our many friends.             
 
AJC LogoSLU Logo 
 
"A Dynamic Partnership Between Jews and Catholics..."

 
The Web Page is also an excellent resource for us involved in and committed to interfaith dialogue. Please look for enhancements in the upcoming months! 

 
Sincerely,
 
Thomas Poynor
Assistant Director, Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies
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Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies | A collaboration of Saint Leo University and the American Jewish Committee | P.O. Box 6665- 2460 | Saint Leo | FL | 33574-6665