Visiting Rabbi talks peace

Is there more than one path to God?

This question was addresed on Monday when CSB+SJU welcomed Rabbi Abraham Skorka to campus for a lecture hosted by the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning.

The purpose of Skorka’s talk was to celebrate the unique, interfaith discussion that has emerged between the two major world religions in the 60 years since the groundbreaking church document Nostra Aetate, or “In Our Time.”

Published in 1965 in the aftermath the Second Vatican Council, this document emphasized a focus on dialogue and cooperation between the Jewish and Catholic traditions.

“[Nostra Aetate] was a turning point in two millennia of Jewish-Christian relations,” Skorka said during his lecture.

After WWII and the Holocaust (which the Jewish people refer to as “Shoah”), attitudes toward the Jewish peoples were changing, antisemitism was widely condemned and theologians from both religions attempted to enact their desire for a shared conversation.

Out of that desire emerged Nostra Aetate.

An extremely short document, Nostra Aetate affirms the truths in other religions, with a special focus on Judaism.

The document recognizes Judaism almost as the older sibling of Catholicism, labelling it the source from which the Catholic Church received the revelation of God.

Nostra Aetate urges Catholics (and those of every religion) to continue to search for ways to live harmoniously with those of other faith traditions.

“Nostra Aetate was a very strong document for its time,” Skorka said.

Skorka was born in Buenos Aires.

He holds a PhD in Chemistry from The University of Buenos Aires and graduated from Midrahsa HaIvrit and the Latin-American Rabbinical Seminary.

According to his website, Skorka was the Rabbi of the Benei Tikva synagogue for 42 years and the rector of the Rabbinical Seminary for 20 years.

Skorka is currently Senior Research Fellow for Jewish Studies and Jewish-Catholic Relations at Georgetown University in Washington D.C.

He has published many books, the most prominent being “On Heaven and Earth,” which he co-wrote in 2010 after a series of discussions with fellow Argentine and then Archbishop of Buenos Aires Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who in 2013 would become Pope Francis.

The two spiritual leaders’ relationship would continue to develop throughout Francis’ papacy, although the two did not always see eye to eye.

After the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, Pope Francis was criticized by Jewish leaders for not doing enough to condemn Hamas while attacking the Israeli government’s retaliatory tactics.

Skorka said that their dialogue was “interrupted” by the response to the attacks, but that his relationship with Francis was deeper than their differences.

He said that Francis worked to uproot antisemitism within Argentina, going out of his way to protect his Jewish compatriots, showing his kindness and desire to foster a community across religions.

“Francis, for me, was not just an authority figure, but a true friend. We shared a dream for building a better world,” said Skorka.

Director of SJUFaith Margaret Nuzzolese-Conway said Skorka’s presentation was an important moment for the Catholic community at CSB+SJU.

She said it is important to emphasize ecumenism, love, acceptance, and friendship, and saw the lecture as helping accomplish that.

“As our campuses prepare for the annual Festival of Cultures next week, I hope we can all learn something from this talk about the significance of humility in dialogue, as well as [the significance] of doubt in faith,” Nuzzolese-Conway said.

Skorka emphasized that continued work is needed to advance dialogue between religions, especially in light of the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

“The biggest problem in our world today is a lack of dialogue… and dialogue cannot be bullets,” Skorka said.