Between 25 and 27 February 2025, the Dialogue and Prayer Centre in Oświęcim hosted a symposium Christians and Jews: Documents of the Catholic Church 1965-2015. Held under the auspices of the Committee for Dialogue with Judaism at the Polish Bishops’ Conference, the seminar gathered representatives of the Church, scholars, and delegates from a number of dioceses, the stakeholders of the Catholic-Jewish dialogue.
Good and realistic time
The symposium marked the 60th anniversary of the declaration Nostra aetate published during the Second Vatican Council, a milestone in the construction of Christian-Jewish relations. Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, Chairman of the Committee for Dialogue with Judaism at the Polish Bishops’ Conference, stressed the significance of the event: “We had a very good and a very realistic time. It was good above all because we met nearly 30 uniquely committed, dynamic, and competent people. A large percentage of them were young priests and lay people who are not afraid to get involved in this area of Church life. They take initiative on their own and so it was a very good time of sharing good practices”.
As Cardinal Ryś noted, the seminar was extremely constructive: “We have listened to five lectures on the five major documents of the Holy See that address the dialogue between Christianity and Judaism. We discussed these documents at length; each debate was quite long and took one hour. From this perspective, the seminar was highly valuable and warrants continuation”.
Continuing the work of John Paul II
Fr. Piotr Kot from the Abraham J. Heschel Centre for Catholic-Jewish Relations at the Catholic University of Lublin, a symposium participant, stressed the need to continue the work begun by St. John Paul II, a great advocate of the Christian-Jewish dialogue. As Fr. Piotr Kot indicated, “Today’s generation no longer remember his gestures or words. We need to redouble our efforts to make this dialogue alive and authentic. While we still face a number of tasks, meetings like that in Oświęcim are a big step forward”.
Participants voiced their hope that the meeting would result in concrete initiatives in dioceses and parishes and that the Catholic-Jewish dialogue would advance in a spirit of mutual respect and understanding.
Dialogue on the 60th anniversary of Nostra aetate
The symposium participants discussed the key documents of the Church, including the Nostra aetate declaration. Various suggestions were made on how to implement it. Discussions involved also e.g. the document of the Pontifical Biblical Commission The Jewish People and their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible.
“This meeting was invaluably enriching. It showed that the Catholic-Jewish dialogue in Poland has great potential, which has so far been scattered. Now we have a chance to integrate and revive it”, said Fr. Miroslaw Wróbel, Director of the Institute of Biblical Studies at the Catholic University of Lublin (KUL) and a member of the Committee for Dialogue with Judaism at the Polish Bishops’ Conference.
Fr. Wróbel added that many participants representing Polish dioceses shared their experience and also listened to the witness provided by others. He stressed that “This provided a powerful impetus for rejuvenating the Catholic-Jewish dialogue in Poland”.
Reflecting on the Shoah and the path of prayer
Reflection on the Shoah was a major element of the seminar, whose participants started it walking the path of prayer on the premises of the former Nazi German concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. Fr. Manfred Deselaers, representing the Dialogue and Prayer Centre in Oświęcim, led the participants along the railway ramp where the Jews arrived during the Holocaust. “This was their last path to the crematoria”, recalled Fr. Piotr Kot from the Heschel Centre at KUL. Fr. Mirosław Wróbel observed that “Sensitising others to dialogue and opening the hearts of young people is crucial in the formation of clergy and seminarians. Theology must focus on the human person and their dignity, regardless of religion or culture. It was this reflection which we shared in Oświęcim that I found particularly moving”.
Tomasz Zielenkiewicz, https://vaticannews.va/en.