A first-of-its-kind humanitarian project, which aims to curb the spread of AIDS in Africa, and which will be managed jointly by senior Catholic and Jewish officials, is one of the main topics to be discussed at the gathering of Catholic clergy and Jewish representatives, which will begin today in New York.
A first-of-its-kind humanitarian project, which aims to curb the spread of AIDS in Africa, and which will be managed jointly by senior Catholic and Jewish officials, is one of the main topics to be discussed at the gathering of Catholic clergy and Jewish representatives, which will begin today in New York.
The gathering, which will last two days, will be attended by 27 cardinals and bishops from different countries, and Jewish public figures, including scholars and chief rabbis in Europe and South America. Among the cardinals who confirmed their participation in the meeting, at least three are mentioned as candidates to succeed John Paul II as Pope.
At the opening session today, Cardinal Lustige from France, and his colleague Kasper from Germany, who serves as head of the Vatican's committee for relations with the Jews, will speak. The chairman of the World Jewish Congress, Israel Singer, who organized the convention, will also speak.
This is the third year that the World Jewish Congress has held the interfaith convention. However, according to the organizers, the Catholic side showed a special interest in it this year, which was manifested in a significant increase of cardinals and bishops who responded to the invitation and announced their desire to express themselves on the issues that will be raised at the gathering. In a previous convention, 13 senior Catholic clergy from Europe participated, and in this convention, cardinals and bishops from China, India, Brazil, Argentina, South Korea, Ukraine and four cardinals from Africa are participating.
The current gathering has a special symbolic meaning - it is being held on the 40th anniversary of the declaration of the Catholic Church (Nostra Etata), in which it announced a change in its attitude towards the Jews. "The increased Catholic presence this year is of particular importance," said Singer. "Participating in it are central and influential Catholic clerics, whose task it is to ensure the continuity of the sympathetic policy towards the Jewish people and Israel, which Pope John Paul II designed and implemented." The initiative for the project to curb the spread of AIDS in Africa will be based on the experience gained by both parties, in the operation in Argentina, during the economic crisis. In the operation, led by World Jewish Congress activists and Catholic clergy, foodstuffs and financial aid were distributed to thousands of people.
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