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Friday, October 11, 2024Culture

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In the past decade, there has been a shocking rise in acts of hate directed against Jews. In this time of need, it is critical that more leaders understand the power of the example of Cardinal O'Malley.

"God wants us to be friends."
Nearly 20 years ago, Cardinal Sean O'Malley reminded his flock and the community of Boston of this basic truth about Jewish-Catholic relations. It has taken millennia for such an appeal to be heard.
In the wake of the Holocaust, and after two millennia of suspicion, expulsion, and persecution, a new beginning was desperately needed. In October 1965, with the adoption of Nostra Aetate by the Second Vatican Council, a hopeful new chapter began. This statement issued by the council convened by Pope Paul VI declared that "The Jews remain very dear to God" and that the church "deplores all hatreds, persecutions, displays of antisemitism directed against the Jews at any time or from any source."
The revolution that these words brought forward has been evident in many communities around the world. But nowhere did the turn to mutual understanding and shared humanity manifest more so than in Boston. This community has been led over the decades toward mutual understanding and compassion by Jewish and Catholic leaders alike.

Lenny Zakim, the late beloved director of ADL New England, and Cardinal Law led a group of Boston's Jewish and Catholic leaders on an historic and deeply emotional trip to Auschwitz in 1986. Fifteen years later, Cardinal Law and Bishop William Murphy invited Lenny and ADL to help mark the Catholic Jubilee with another shared trip. The preparation entailed a?year of discussion, study, and interaction to prepare for this event between the Catholic and Jewish participants.?These 60 community leaders spent a week in Israel, followed by a visit to the Vatican. They had a private audience with Pope John Paul II, during which Lenny Zakim was honored by being inducted to be a Knight of St. Gregory -- the highest honor for a non-Catholic person. In subsequent years, an ADL training program prepared thousands of Catholic teachers in Boston to promote understanding across lines of religious difference.
In the past decade, there has been a shocking rise in acts of hate directed against Jews. In this time of need, it is critical that more leaders understand the power of the example of Cardinal O'Malley. In that regard, we are grateful for the already evident friendship and dedication to these goals that Bishop Richard Henning brings to Boston.
The world is currently beset by too much pain, too much suffering and far too much hate. With so much brokenness, the Jewish imperative to "Repair the world" can seem overwhelming. Yet the High Holiday season invites Jews to renew ourselves in that sacred work. The sound of the Shofar calls us back to our dreams, to the world our tradition teaches is possible. Yet, the Jewish community has always known that we cannot do this work alone.
In the words and spirit of Cardinal O'Malley and Bishop Henning, that is why "God wants us to be friends."
Thank God we have them here in Boston.

RON FISH IS DIRECTOR OF PARTNERSHIPS AND ENGAGEMENT OF THE ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE, EAST DIVISION, AND LEWIS SASSOON IS A BOARD MEMBER OF ADL NEW ENGLAND.