The Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations has just concluded its 10th Annual meeting, hosted by Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J.

The meeting opened on Sunday, October 30th with a keynote address by His Eminence Kurt Cardinal Koch entitled, "Theological Questions and Perspectives in Jewish-Catholic Dialogue."  The occasion was also the 18th Annual Msgr. John M. Oesterreicher Memorial Lecture.

The final text of the cardinal's wide-ranging address is now available HERE.

[As of May 1, 2012, Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations has devoted some of its Vol. 7 to a symposium on the cardinal's address with reflections from Philip A. Cunningham, Adam Gregerman, Eugene Korn, Peter C. Phan, Karla Suomala, and Jesper Svartvik. Click HERE.]

Following the lecture and dinner, Cardinal Koch participated in an informal conversation with members of the CCJR and the Seton Hall community. This private conversation has been the subject of some inaccurate media reports to which the CCJR Board has responded with a letter accessbile HERE.

Monday, October 31st was a very full day, featuring three panel discussions:  

1. "Toward a Jewish Theology of Its Relationship to Christianity" with Alan Brill (Seton Hall) and Michael Kogan (Montclair State), moderated by Peter Zaas (Siena College).
2. "Toward a Christian Theology of Its Relationship to Judaism" with Mary Boys (Union Theological), Philip Cunningham (Saint Joseph's), and John Pawlikowski (Catholic Theological Union), moderated by guest interviewer Paul Knitter (Union Theological).
3. "Young Voices in the Dialogue" with Bridget O'Brien (Notre Dame), Ari Gordon (U. Penn), Rori Picker Neiss (Yeshivat Maharat), and Demetrios Tonias (Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston), moderated by Elena Procario-Foley (Iona). 

The day concluded with a festive dinner during which Rabbi A. James Rudin, Senior Interreligious Advisor for the American Jewish Committee, was awarded the Council's Shevet Achim Award for Outstanding Contributions to Christian-Jewish Understanding.

Tuesday, November 1st began with the annual "View from Here" panel, which this year considered the topic "Approaches to Jewish and Christian Interreligious Activities with Muslims." The panelists were James Buchanan (Xavier University), Ulrich Rosenhagen (University of Wisconsin), and Fredrick Schweitzer (Manhattan College), moderated by Eric Greenberg (ADL).

This was followed by the annual business meeting during which elections to the CCJR's Board of Directors occurred. Before the vote the Council unanimously expressed its gratitude to outgoing chair Elena Procario-Foley for all her hard and excellent work over the past seven years.  The new Board consists of Chair Ruth Langer (Boston College), Vice-Chair Peter Zaas (Siena College), Secretary-Treasurer, Philip Cunningham (Saint Joseph's), and At-large members: Alan Brill (Seton Hall) and Kevin Spicer (Stonehill College).

A fuller report of the eeting with photographs and other details will follow shortly.