Spring Meeting of the National Council of Synagogues - U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Consultation

The semi-annual meeting between the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and National Council of Synagogues was held at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center in New York, NY on June 19, 2019. The co-chairs of the dialogue are Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, and Rabbi David Straus, Senior Rabbi of Main Line Reform Temple in Wynnewood, PA.

In the morning, the group heard a presentation from Rabbi Abraham Skorka, a close friend of Pope Francis, on the Jewish people in South America today. He was responded to by Rev. Manuel J. Rodríguez, a priest originally from the Dominican Republic and ordained in the Diocese of Brooklyn. The afternoon included a public panel co-sponsored with the General Consulate of Israel in New York in celebration of 25 years of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the State of Israel. It was moderated by Rabbi David Straus, and the speakers included Ambassador Dani Dayan, Consul General, Consulate General of Israel in New York; Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer, Mission of the Holy See to the UN; Timothy Cardinal Dolan; and Prof. Adam Gregerman, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Theology and Religious Studies and Co-director of the Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations, Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia, PA.

The next meeting will take place on November 18, 2019 and will discuss the timely topic of immigration and migration.