By organizing this seminar in Italy last June 18, at the Embassy of Spain to the Holy See in Rome, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies of the FPSC addresses the issue of relations between Jews and Christians in the course of their business, which since 2007 is to “educate and inform” experts, academics, media, politicians, development workers and civil society in general, working on issues of the Middle East.
This seminar was organized with the aim of creating a space for reflection among the participating experts on how to build spaces of mutual understanding between Jews and Christians.
Reference was made to concepts such as identity, mutual respect and strengthening of Jewish-Christian relations. The CEMOFSPC works from the belief that mutual understanding removes many barriers and that is the first step to building peace.
The event began with remarks by the Ambassador of Spain to the Holy See, Eduardo Gutiérrez Sáenz de Buruaga, who shared the first Seminary panel with Cardinal Julian Herranz, President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts and President Emeritus of the Disciplinary Committee of the Roman Curia, who stressed the need on the part of Jews and Christians to be united against the crisis of ethical values and create spaces in favor of human dignity, and Jumana Trad, President of the Foundation for the Social Promotion of Culture.
Then a session, entitled “Construction of spaces of mutual understanding” took place it was composed by Rabbi Alberto Funaro, Rabbi of the Jewish Community of Rome, who appealed to the need for an honest debate to show the world that peaceful coexistence is possible; Monsignor Norbert Hofmann, Secretary of the Committee on Relations with Judaism and a member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity,Rev. Norbert Hofmann, Secretary of the Committee on Relations with Judaism and a member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, who highlighted the fact that the Pope was accompanied by his Jewish and Muslims friends in his recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and stressed the need for a theological dialogue, alive and able to engage the next generation; María Teresa Rodríguez, Director of the Center for Jewish-Christian Studies, who stressed Vatican II as a turning point towards an improvement of relations between Jews and Christians indicating that decades of disagreement should culminate in a “hug”; and Victor Magyar, Advisor for Culture of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Italy, who said that religions should serve the purpose of peace.
Benedetto Ippolito acted as moderator, Professor of History of Philosophy at the University Roma Tre and Doctor of Philosophy from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan.
Then a general discussion among all present was held.