THE ABRAHAM J. HESCHEL CENTER FOR CATHOLIC-JEWISH RELATIONS THE JOHN PAUL II CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF LUBLIN

At the Adriano Cinema, at Piazza Cavour, a screening was held of the documentary film “I Save a Human Being. People of the Church in the Face of the Extermination.” This is the third production of the Opoka Foundation under the Polish Bishops’ Conference, created within the project “Polish… Read more… »

Study visit to Rome – a meeting of cultures, religions, and history A unique study visit to the Eternal City, attended by representatives of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin and the winner of the “Lubelszczyzna – dialogue of cultures, religions, and hearts” competition, became a space… Read more… »

On the 86th anniversary of Hans Frank's announcement of the obligation for Jews to wear armbands with the Star of David, Yad Vashem published a post that omitted the context of the German occupation of Poland. Representatives of the Polish authorities and memorial institutions reacted to the false information provided… Read more… »

Participants from numerous countries and various religious traditions gathered at the international symposium "Nostra Aetate: 60 Years Later" held at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. Cardinal George Koovakad, Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and one of the speakers, emphasized that interreligious dialogue must… Read more… »

Eight decades ago, the world faced the necessity of judging crimes whose scale exceeded the existing categories of law for the first time. On November 20, 1945, the trial of the highest-ranking officials of the German Third Reich began before the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg. As historians emphasize,… Read more… »

A shared concern for the memory and heritage of local heroes became the focus of this year's Forum of Partners of the “Called by Name” Program. This initiative, which has been running since 2019, honors Poles and commemorates Jews murdered by the Germans during rescue operations. On November 14,… Read more… »

Last Friday, November 14, students from two third-year classes of the W. Broniewski First High School in Świdnik, together with their homeroom teachers, took part in another study trip in the series to the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw. The Heschel Center at KUL… Read more… »

Rabbi Joe Charnes from the United States - a theologian and teacher who has been involved for many years in interreligious dialogue between Judaism and Christianity - will be the special guest at the next meeting in the series “Two Pulpits”, this time devoted to the figure of St.… Read more… »

The activities of the Abraham J. Heschel Center for Catholic-Jewish Relations, established three years ago by the Rector of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (KUL), Rev. Prof. Mirosław Kalinowski, were presented in the European Parliament during the conference “Antisemitism and the Demonization of Israel on European Campuses.”… Read more… »

Last Friday, November 7th, students of the 21st Secondary School of St. Stanislaus Kostka (known as “Biskupiak”) in Lublin, together with their teachers, took part in the first study trip for youth within a new series of educational visits to the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews… Read more… »

On the night of November 9-10, 1938, an organized pogrom of the Jewish population took place in the Third Reich. Hundreds of people were killed, over a thousand synagogues were burned and destroyed, several thousand Jewish shops were vandalized, and about 30,000 men were sent to concentration camps. These events,… Read more… »

On November 7, 2000, during the First Congress of Christian Culture in Lublin, Chief Rabbi of Rome Elio Toaff was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Catholic University of Lublin. It was he who welcomed two popes—John Paul II and Benedict XVI—to the Roman synagogue, creating more than just… Read more… »

Today, the State Museum at Majdanek held celebrations marking the 82nd anniversary of Operation Erntefest, attended by representatives of the City of Lublin, the Marshal's Office, the Association of Former Concentration Camp Prisoners, representatives of the Jewish Community, a delegation from the Institute of National Remembrance, Rabbi Małgorzata Kordowicz,… Read more… »

In the weeks leading up to the November celebrations of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, Catholics spend time tidying and decorating the graves of their loved ones, as well as praying at their resting places. This custom is not practiced in the Jewish tradition. S. Eliana Kuryło… Read more… »

It is the world's first compendium that gathers all Vatican documents on relations with Judaism in one place. On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council document Nostra Aetate, a new scholarly publication has been released: “The Catholic Church and the Jews and Judaism: Documents… Read more… »

“Dialogue is not a compromise of faith, but an act of faith. It is not weakness, but a testimony of courage and trust in God,” said Abraham Joshua Heschel after the Church announced Nostra aetate, a groundbreaking document in the Church's relationship with Judaism. Heschel himself, an eminent philosopher… Read more… »

Sixty years after the publication of Nostra aetate, the Church and the Jewish community continue to ask themselves the same question: can humanity truly live together? During the international conference "After Nostra aetate (1965–2025). Evaluation and Dreams" at the Higher Theological Seminary in Łódź, participants were called upon to… Read more… »

Sixty years ago, the Catholic Church opened a new chapter in its relations with non-Christian religions. The 1965 declaration Nostra aetate changed language, thinking, and hearts. The significance of its message in Catholic-Jewish dialogue will be discussed by participants at the international conference “After Nostra Aetate (1965-2025). Evaluation and… Read more… »

During the war, they helped Jews, and after 1945, they themselves experienced persecution. Evidence of the nuns' activities, hidden for years in monastery archives, is now becoming part of academic research and collective memory. This is the subject of the 53rd National Conference of Monastic Historians, co-organized by the… Read more… »

At the headquarters of the Heschel Center at the Catholic University of Lublin, on Spokojna Street, in the room where German Nazis planned and coordinated the extermination of approximately two million Jews during Operation Reinhardt, Bishop Antonio Staglianò, president of the Pontifical Academy of Theology, met with the rector… Read more… »

Thirty-four years ago, on October 19, 1991, Father Jan Zieja died in Warsaw. He was a chaplain during the Polish-Bolshevik War and World War II, as well as a collaborator of the Council for Aid to Jews “Żegota” and co-founder of the Workers' Defense Committee. His life was a… Read more… »

Unknown testimonies, forgotten archives and thousands of sisters who operated in the shadows. The National Academic Conference of Religious Historians, co-organized by the Heschel Center of the Catholic University of Lublin, will be held in Warsaw on October 22-23. The event will highlight the role of female religious congregations… Read more… »

84 years ago, doing good became a crime. On October 15, 1941, Hans Frank signed a decree that imposed the death penalty for helping Jews in occupied Poland. From that moment on, any gesture of solidarity – a slice of bread, shelter, a warning – could cost someone their… Read more… »

Crossroads of the Covenant: Christian-Jewish Dialogue and Its Multifaceted Implications is a new online course held by the Heschel Center at the Catholic University of Lublin. It's open to everyone and free of charge. The course will be led by Dr. Faydra Shapiro, who has been teaching at universities… Read more… »