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News Items
October – December 2002
Rabbinical Seminary
The new seven story building is almost five times the size of the seminary’s former facility at the old Forest Hills Jewish Center in Queens, New York. It cost $15 million.
Religious Hate Crime
These crimes increased in the United States. There were approximately 1100 crimes against Jews; 500 against Muslims; 40 against Catholics and 30 against Protestants.
Archives
The Vatican announced it will release archives relating to its relations with prewar Germany. The archives will include documents from 1922 to 1939 when Pope Pius XII was the Vatican ambassador in Berlin. The archives will be available only to scholars who apply for the permission.
Cloning
Jewish and Catholic religious leaders denounced the human clone claim. The Catholic Church condemned all forms of cloning. Judaism supports medical treatments but general cloning is unacceptable.
Catholic Charities
The Catholic Charities network of 1,640 local agencies and institutions nationwide has been ranked fourth among the nation’s non-profits by the Non-Profit Times newspaper. Catholic Charities was ranked behind Lutheran Services in America, the National Council of YMCA’s and the American Red Cross.
Jewish Leaders
A group of prominent Jewish intellectuals in Southern California is urging the American Jewish community to “reopen the channels of free debate” asserting that the prolonged Mideast crisis has created growing intolerance here for criticism of the Israeli government or compassion for the Palestinian people. David Myers, professor and vice chair of the University of California, Los Angeles’ history department, who initiated the statement, said he believes that it is precisely in times of crisis that a variety of viewpoints should be aired to help the Jewish people make informed decisions on the best course of action.
A Pessimistic Picture
Michael Steinhardt who has donated millions to Jewish groups said, “I feel that the non-Orthodox constituency in America is in decline, and perhaps irreparable decline.” He asserted that Jewish defense organizations created to fight anti-semitism, such as the American Jewish committee, the American Jewish Congress, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Simon Wiesenthal Center are duplicative and should disappear. Community resources would be far better spent on Jewish education. Education should be a primary priority.
Obsession with Catholicism
The Catholic League registered its complaint against the Anti-Catholic episodes of the ABC show “The Practice”. The Catholic League president William Donohue answered the show’s writer, David E. Kelley: “Like many former Catholics, you can’t pack it in and find another home.”
Burial Box
An ancient burial box found near Jerusalem bears the inscription, “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.” While some scholars believe the box may have belonged to the apostle James, others noted that the three names, were common in the first century AD. Some scholars remain cautious about its authenticity.
Unsung Hero
Returning to Rome to take up his new post as president of the Council for Justice and Peace, Archbishop Renato Martino leaves the UN and a legacy of 16 years of battles in defense of human rights. One of his greates moments was in 2000 AD when 4,207 groups among them the largest and most powerful Jewish, Protestant and Islamic groups in the world signed a declaration supporting the presence of the Vatican at the United Nations.
Hidden in the Convent
On October 16, 1943, the Mother Superior, Sister Maria Francesca opened her convent in Roe to Italian Jews who were being rounded up by the Nazis. Her Sisters were able to hide 105 Jews. According to Luciano Tas, a representative of Rome’s Jewish community states, “Hundreds of convents, after receiving this kind of order from the Vatican, accommodated Jews: thousands of priests gave them help; other prelates organized a clandestine network for the distribution of forged identity papers.”
Declining numbers
The Jewish population is declining both worldwide and in Israel and Palestinian territories where Arabs are expected to outnumber Jews by 2020. The study estimated the world’s Jewish population at 12.8 million, with 5 million in Israel and 7.8 million elsewhere. The largest Jewish community outside Israel is in North America where the survey showed a population of 5.6 million, virtually unchanged over the past 32 years.
Ex-Nazi Camp Guard
Mykola Wasylyk was deported to the Ukraine. He was a guard at the Trawniki and Budzyn forced labor camps in Nazi occupied Poland from April 1943 to November 1943. He is now 79 years old. Having entered the United States in 1949 under false papers, the U.S. government was able to deport him.
The Swiss Guard’s New Leader
Elmar Theodor Mader, 39 was made commander of the Swiss Guard in the Vatican. New recruits will be encouraged to stay one year beyond their normal two year term. Mader is already planning festivities for 2006, when the Swiss Guard, founded by Pope Julius II, will celebrate their 500th Anniversary.
A Jewish-Catholic Summit in Paris
A gathering of Jewish and Catholic leaders, organized by the European Jewish Congress convened in Paris. Among the prominent religious leaders, there was the former chief Rabbi of France, Samuel Siral; Caridnal Jean Marie Lustiger, Archbishop of Paris; Professor Jean Halperin and chief Rabbi from Moscow, Pinchas Goldschmidt. The conference covered topics from theology to contemporary issues such as the future of Jerusalem and the preservation of the memory of the Holocaust. They also addressed the current surge of anti-Semitism throughout Europe, especially in France.
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