About

Under the Center's auspices, diverse Christian and Jewish scholars and thinkers representing various disciplines engage in dialogue.

For past programs, please see our Center Reports. 

 

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2019-2020 Programs

Is there a New Anti-Semitism? A Panel Discussion with James Bernauer, SJ (Boston College), Susannah Heschel (Dartmouth College), and Mark Silk (Trinity College)
February 18, 2020
Co-sponsored with the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life and BC Hillel.

Seventh Annual John Paul II Lecture in Christian-Jewish Relations
Between the Holocaust and the Nakba: When Genya and Henryk Kowalski Challenged History, Jaffa 1949
Prof. Alon Confino
February 9, 2020
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What Can We Say about Jewish Groups during the Second Temple Period?
Prof. Shaye J. D. Cohen
November 12, 2019
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"We are all children of God": Interfaith Relations in Twentieth Century Boston
October 23, 2019
Keynote address by Prof. James Bernauer, S.J., Kraft Family Professor and Director of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning.
"That Meant a lot to us": Introductory Remarks at the Opening of the Exhibit "We are all children of God." 
Panel presentation on interfaith relations and dialogue by Prof. Ruth Langer, Professor of Jewish Studies and Associate Director of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning.
(Sponsored by the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, the Boston College Libraries, and the Archdiocese of Boston)
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Hannah Arendt and the Global Refugee Crisis
Prof. Serena Parekh
September 26, 2019
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Welcome Luncheon & Talk: Katharina von Kellenbach, 2019-2020 Corcoran Visiting Chair
September 24, 2019
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2018-2019 Programs

Altruism and Our Responsibility for the Other: Interfaith (Jewish, Christian, and Islamic) and Interdisciplinary Perspectives
May 2, 2019
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A Yom HaShoah Commemoration: Hitler's Mein Kampf, Prelude to the Holocaust
April 25-26, 2019
(Sponsors included the Boston College Art History & Film Department, Jewish Studies, and the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning)
Prof. James Bernauer, S.J. presented his talk "Jesuits, Jews and Holocaust Remembrance"
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2019 Corcoran Chair Conference
MERCIFUL GOD, PUNITIVE GOD: Interdisciplinary Reflection on Scriptural Warrants in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
April 7-8, 2019
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Conference Program

Matthew and the Jewish Leaders: From Text to Film
Prof. Adele Reinhartz
March 25, 2019
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Understanding Jesus Means Understanding Judaism: A workshop for clergy, religious educators, Bible study leaders, Sunday school teachers, and fellow travelers
Prof. Amy-Jill Levine
October 15, 2018
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Sixth Annual John Paul II Lecture in Christian-Jewish Relations
Christian Privilege, Christian Fragility, and the Gospel of John: How American Race Relations inform Jewish-Christian Relations
Prof. Amy-Jill Levine
October 14, 2018
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The Jewishness of the Gospel of Mark
Prof. Lawrence Wills
October 3, 2018
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2017-2018 Programs

The Dead Sea Scrolls after 70 Years: What Have We Learned?
Dr. Angela Kim Harkins
April 24, 2018
Co-sponsored with the School of Theology and Ministry.
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Fatal Discord: Erasmus, Luther, and the Fight for the Western Mind
Michael Massing
April 19, 2018
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2018 Yom HaShoah Lecture
Coming to Terms with the Nazi Past after 1945: The Catholic Church and National Socialism
Prof. Mark Edward Ruff
April 12, 2018
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Justification by Faith: The Reason for Separation Between Jews and Christians? Reflections on Paul, Luther, and Jewish Tradition
Prof. Jens Schroter
April 9, 2018
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The 2018 Corcoran Chair Conference
Luther's Anti-Jewish Interpretation of the Bible: A Case Study in Christian-Jewish Relations in Late Medieval Germany
March 25-26, 2018
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Conference Program

Songs of Liberation: Passover Songs from the Exodus to Today
Robert Cohen
March 20, 2018
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Confronting Racism: The Prophetic Politics of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Prof. Susannah Heschel
November 14, 2017
As part of the Center's Jewish-Christian Lecture Series, Prof. Susannah Heschel spoke in Prof. Ruth Langer's "Exploring the Theologyof Abraham Joshua Heschel" class.
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The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament
Prof. James VanderKam
November 13, 2017
As part of the Center's Jewish-Christian Lecture Series, Prof. James VanderKam spoke in Prof. Angela Harkins' Second Temple Judaisms course on the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament.
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Germans and Jews: History is the Memory of a People
November 12, 2017
The Center hosted a film screening of the film Germans and Jews. Germany is considered one of the most democratic societies in the world today, assuming the position of moral leader in Europe as it embraces hundreds of thousands of refugees. These developments could not have been imagined in 1945. Through personal stories, the film explores the country's transformation from silence about the Holocuast to facing it head on.
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Charity as a Transformative Experience
November 2, 2017
The Center hosted an interfaith colloquium organized by graduate students form the interfaith and inter-disciplinary seminar "Poverty and the Poor: Between Justice and Charity" The colloquium shared with the wider campus community the work of the seminar; brief presentations on the subject of charity as a transformative practice were followed by a panel discussion concerned with the personal experiences of seminar participants.
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The Other Peace Process: Interreligious Dialogue, A View from Jerusalem
Rabbi Dr. Ron Kronish
October 23, 2017
Rabbi Ron Kronish discussed his most recent book The Other Peace Process: Interreligious Dialogue, A View from Jerusalem and the issues it addresses: methods and messages of interreligious dialogue, the history and context of the political peace process, and peace-building educational initiatives in Israel and the surrounding region. He offered realism yet hope in addressing the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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Luther in America
Prof. Christine Helmer
October 5, 2017
Prof. Christine Helmer, 2017-2018 Corcoran Chair in Christian-Jewish Relations, spoke at a Boisi Center luncheon on the topic of Luther in America. Searches in the twentieth century for the historical Luther can be seen as a development in viewing Luther from two confessional perspectives. The search for the "Protestant Luther" characterizes Luther scholarship in Germany beginning at the turn of the twentieth century, while the search for the "Catholic Luther" takes the ecumenical spirit of Vatican II as inspiration to see Luther as historically rooted in the Middle Ages. How have American Luther scholars contributed to an emerging understanding of Luther as Catholic theologian who loves philosophy? Prof. Helmer's talk reviewed recent scholarship on Luther in America to address these questions. This event was co-sponsored by the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life and the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning.

Shores of Light
September 25, 2017
The Center presented a screening of the film Shores of Light. The film tells the poignant, true story of thousands of displaced persons, Holocaust survivors, who arrived in Southern Italy on their way to the Land of Israel at the end of World War II. Local Italian Catholics, though poor and on the losing side of the war, welcomed them and displayed the ancient Italian tradition of kindness toward the downtrodden. In the beautiful setting of the Italian shore and through the kindness of the local Italian Catholics, the survivors began to recuperate and heal. About 350 Jewish couples married and hundreds of babies were born, a true testament to life and redemption after the Holocaust. The film revolves around three of those babies born, Rivka, Esther, and Shuni, both in Santa Maria de Leuca in 1946, as they return to their birthplace in search of the traces left behind by their parents and reconnect with those Italians who remember those days of resilience and hope on Italy's Shores of Light.
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Article in The Heights, 10/1/2017

2016-2017 Programs

Kings and Messiahs: Reconsidering Kingship in the Hebrew Bible, Judaism, and Christianity
Prof. Garrett Galvin
April 6, 2017
Prof. Garrett Galvin, O.F.M., Assistant Professor of Sacred Scripture at the Franciscan School of Theology in California, spoke in Prof. Andrew Davis' "Book of Kings" course, expanding our view of kingship in ancient Israel by adding the more positive perspectives of Chronicles and Psalms to the negative assessments of the Book of Kings. Since Israelite kingship is foundational for Jewish and Christian understandings of messiah, his expanded view helps us rethink some of the assumptions that lie behind the concept in each tradition.
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The Gospel of John and Jewish-Christian Relations
April 2-3, 2017
The 2017 Corcoran Chair Conference
The Gospel of John is one of the most beloved books of the Christian canon, appreciated and admired for its sublime theology and poetic language. But the Gospel is also the source of potent anti-Jewish ideas, including the association of the Jews with the devil, that persist to this very day. By focusing on such diverse areas as art, film, music and liturgy, on thinkers such as Luther and Bultmann, on Protestant, Catholic as well as Orthodox Christianity, and, of course, on the Fourth Gospel itself, this conference considered the role that the Gospel has played and continues to play in Jewish-Christian relations.
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Conference Program

The Music of the Psalms: From King David's Time to Our Own
Robert Cohen
March 22, 2017
Music historian Robert Cohen delivered a musically rich presentation on the Psalms, which occupy a paramount place in the world's liturgy. His lecture addressed: What is it about their spiritual scope and emotional breadth that gives them such power? What can we learn from their language and poetry, and from the music of the Psalms: from the time of the Second Temple through the Renaissance, and from Colonial to contemporary America? And how do the diverse styles of their musical settings--cantorial and choral music; Hasidic and American folk; European and American classical; bluegrass and reggae; a cappella, gospel, and "world music"--speak to us and move us?
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The Psalms: Jewish-Catholic Dialogue through Shared Praise
Andrew R. Davis
March 2, 2017
Andrew Davis, Assistant Professor of Old Testament at Boston College, delivered a lecture exploring the Psalter as a valuable resource for Jewish-Christian dialogue. Christian readers of scripture have long been enlightened and inspired by Jewish exegesis, and today we have more opportunities than ever to read Scripture through the eyes of other faith traditions. Reading "shoulder to shoulder" with Jews is a way to learn the Psalms' significance in Jewish tradition and also to reflect in new ways about their importance for Christian faith.

The Confessions of the Flesh in the Foucault Archives
Agustin Colombo
February 23, 2017
Center Visiting Scholar Agustin Colombo delivered a talk on the newly available personal archives of Michel Foucault. The presentation focused on the unpublished 4th volume of the History of Sexuality: "The Confessions of the Flesh" housed at the Fonds Foucault. It tackled the Augustinian problematization of desire (libido). By considering this particular point, the talk aimed to use a key topic of Foucault's unpublished book in order to better approach its relevance for the whole project of the History of sexuality and the new perspectives and readings that it opens. This talk took place in conjunction with the Center-sponsored research project "Erotic-Spiritual Articulations of the Early Christian Way of Life: Foreshadowings of Anti-Judaism and Anti-Semitism?" 

Mark, Women, and the Representation of Judaism in Mark 5:21-43
Prof. Mary Rose D'Angelo
February 21, 2017
As part of the Center's Jewish-Christian Lecture Series, Prof. Mary Rose D'Angelo spoke in Prof. Angela Harkins' Gospel of Mark course.
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Jesus of Hollywood
Adele Reinhartz
November 9, 2016
Prof. Adele Reinhartz, the 2016-2017 Corcoran Chair in Christian-Jewish Relations, delivered a film screening and talk to the Jewish-Christian Dialogue group titled "Jesus of Hollywood." Since the advent of the cinema, Jesus has frequently appeared in our movie houses and on our television screens. Indeed, it may well be that more people worldwide know about Jesus and his life story from the movies than from any other medium. The talk examined a number of clips from the Jesus movies, to chart some of the different ways in which Jesus of Nazareth is remade into Jesus of Hollywood.

Towards the Ends of the Earth: Land in the Jewish-Christian Dialogue
The Fifth Annual John Paul II Lecture in Jewish-Christian Relations
Rev. David Neuhaus, S.J.
October 30, 2016
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Luncheon Talk by Prof. Dov Waxman
September 27, 2016
Prof. Dov Waxman of Northeastern University gave a talk to the Jewish-Christian Dialogue Group on his volume Trouble in the Tribe: The American Jewish Conflict Over Israel  (Princeton, 2016). The talk and following conversation focused on chapter 1 "The Changing American Jewish Relationship with Israel" and chapter 3 "The Argument About Israel." The book educates readers on the diversity of voices in the Jewish community, a need in contemporary Christian-Jewish dialogue.

Jesus' Sermon on the Mount: For the Law or Against the Law?
September 20, 2016
As part of the Center's Jewish-Christian Lecture Series, Prof. Jonathan Klawans spoke in Prof. Angela Harkins' "Gospel of Matthew" class, situating Jesus' teachings about the law in Matthew's Gospel within a broader late Second Temple context. In addition to his lecture, Prof. Klawans led students in a discussion of purity and the Temple in first-century Judaism.
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2015-2016 Programs

Etty: A Play
April 27, 2016
Etty is a play drawn from the diaries of Etty Hillesum, a poetic, young Dutch woman, searching for the meaning of her life--and all life--during the terror Nazi occupation. This performance at Boston College was co-sponsored by the Center and the Theology Department.
Poster

A Dedication Honoring Fr. Jakob Raile, S.J.
April 10, 2016
The Center hosted a dedication for Fr. Jakob Raile, S.J., who is recognized by Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust Memorial Center as "Righteous Among the Nations" for having risked his life while saving hundreds of Hungarian Jews. Fr. James Bernauer, S.J., Kraft Family Professor and Center Director, delivered welcoming and introductory remarks. Prof. Deborah Dwork, Rose Professor of Holocaust History and Director of the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark University, spoke on the historical context and heroism of Fr. Raile's actions.
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Booklet

Fringe Benefits: Marginality and Identity in the Ancient Mediterranean World
2016 Corcoran Chair Conference
April 3-4, 2016
This conference examined the ideas of "hybrid identities" and its component terms--hybridity and identity--by considering a selection of individuals and groups whose activities, allegiances, and/or ideas straddle the boundaries constructed by ancient Jewish, Christian, and pagan leaders.
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Conference program

A Catholic Society in Transition: Religion in Recent Quebec Films
February 16 and March 14, 2016
Prof. Adele Reinhartz, the 2015-2016 Corcoran Chair, hosted a two-part film series, featuring films from Quebec that relate, in different ways, to the rapid transformation of Quebec society from one of the most traditionally Catholic societies in the world to one of the most secular. One aspect of such transformation pertains to relationships to "others" including Jews and to other societies, including Israeli/Palestine.
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A Rebellious Son? Jesus and His Mother at the Wedding in Cana
March 2, 2016
In the Gospel of John, chapter 2, Jesus, his mother, his brothers, and the disciples are at a wedding in Cana in the Galilee. Inexplicably, the wine runs out while the celebrations are in full swing. When Jesus' mother points out the problem to her son, hoping he will help, his answer is surprising: "Woman, what does this have to do with you and me?" This lecture by Prof. Adele Reinhartz, 2015-2016 Corcoran Chair in Christian-Jewish Relations, looked closely at this exchange in the context of the norms and expectations of parent-child relationships in Jewish and Greco-Roman societies, and considered its role in the Gospel's overall presentation of Jesus. This event was co-sponsored by the School of Theology and Ministry and the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning.

History, Trauma, and Testimony
November 6, 2015
As part of the Center's Jewish-Christian Lecture Series, Dr. Murray Schwartz spoke in Prof. Vanessa Rumble's "Freud and Philosophy" class, discussing the tensions between Holocaust history on the one hand and trauma and testimony on the other.
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The Politics of Apocalypticism: Assigning Authorship and Jewish-Christian Relations
November 6, 2015
As part of the Center's Jewish-Christian Lecture Series, Dr. Kelley Coblentz Bautch spoke in Prof. Angela Harkins' "Apocalypses and Apocalyptic Literature" class.
Schedule

Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations Fourteenth Annual Meeting
November 1-2, 2015
The Center hosted the Fourteenth Annual Meeting of the Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations (CCJR), which included four speaker panels open to the public.
Announcement

A Celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of Nostra Aetate
November 1, 2015
Prof. James O'Toole, Clough Millennium Chair in History at Boston College, delivered the keynote lecture, titled "Boston and Nostra Aetate" as part of the Center's "Celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of Nostra Aetate." Prof. James Bernauer, Kraft Family Professor and Director of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning, provided introductory remarks. Prof. O'Toole's address was followed by a panel titled "Relations with Jews and the Diverse Christian Communities of Boston" with Rabbi Or Rose, Director of the Center for Global Judaism at Hebrew College; Rev. Michael McGarry of the Paulist Center; Dr. Jennifer Howe Peace, Associate Professor of Interfaith Studies at Andover-Newton Theological School; and Rev. Dr. Demetrios Tonias, Dean of Annunciation Cathedral of Boston. Ruth Langer, Professor of Jewish Studies and Associate Director of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning, served as the panel's moderator.
Announcement

Jesuit Kaddish: Encounters Between Jesuits and Jews and Why These Might Matter to Us
October 26, 2015
Prof. James Bernauer, S.J., Kraft Family Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College, spoke at the College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, MA) and offered an overview of how Jesuits became a leader in dialogue with Jews. He focused on encounters in the 20th century, with special attention on the historical context of the Holocaust.  

Nostra Aetate and the Jews: The Relationship Between Augustin Cardinal Bea and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
October, 18, 2015
Prof. Susannah Heschel, the Eli Black Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College, delivered the Fourth Annual John Paul II Lecture in Christian-Jewish Relations.
Announcement

Welcome Luncheon for Corcoran Chair Adele Reinhartz
October 15, 2015
The Center hosted a luncheon for Prof. Adele Reinhartz, the 2015-2016 Corcoran Visiting Chair in Christian-Jewish Relations. Prof. Reinhartz spoke about her current research project "Making a Difference: The Gospel of John and the Parting of the Ways" as well as her upcoming Corcoran Chair Spring Conference and spring semester film series event.

"Nostra Aetate": A Catholic and Jewish Peace Treaty or a Spiritual Breakthrough?
Prof. James Bernauer
October 14, 2015
Prof. Bernauer, Kraft Family Professor and Director of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning, delivered a presentation at the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life as part of its fall luncheon colloquium series.

2014-2015 Programs

Dr. Raphael Jospe
April 21, 2015
Dr. Raphael Jospe, professor of Jewish Philosophy at Ariel University in Israel, presented a lecture titled "Zion and Zionism in Jewish and Christian Thought and History" as part of the Center's Jewish-Christian Lecture Series.

Dr. Joshua Furnal
April 8, 2015
Dr. Joshua Furnal, Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Religion at Dartmouth College, led a discussion with the Jewish-Christian Dialogue Group after delivering a talk titled "The Affinity of Strangers: Kierkegaard in Jewish-Catholic Perspective."

Dr. Jay Michaelson
April 1, 2015
As part of its Jewish-Christian Lecture Series, Dr. Jay Michaelson, author of Evolving Dharma: Meditation, Buddhism, and the Next Generation of Enlightenment, spoke in Prof. Mark Oppenheimer's "Writing About Religion" Class, discussing the media's treatment of Buddhism in America.

Protestant, Catholic, Jew...Divorcing
2015 Corcoran Chair Conference
March 22-23, 2015
Fifty years ago, it was nearly impossible for Catholics to get annulments. In Orthodox Judaism, only husbands could grant divorces. In evangelical Protestantism, divorced men and women were treated as damaged goods. Today, in all three traditions, times are changing. This conference examined how much, and how fast.
Conference Program

Agreeing to Disagree: How Jews and Christians Read Scripture Differently
Prof. Amy-Jill Levine
March 19, 2015
Although Jews and Christians share common books--the Jewish Tanakh and the Christian Old Testament--we read our shared stories in different ways. Differences in translation, punctuation, definitions, theology, emphasis, and even canonical order all lead to differences in community self-definition. Prof. Levine addressed how we have a conversation if we see the world, and the text, through different lenses. The event was sponsored by the School of Theology and Ministry and the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning, and generously supported by the Kitz Family in honor of Richard J. Clifford, S.J.

Righteous Among the Nations: A Conference Exploring the Spiritual & Ethical Witness of Holocaust Rescuers
March 12-13, 2015
The Israeli Holocaust Memorial Center, Yad Vashem, has honored over 25,000 individuals with the title "Righteous Among the Nations" for having risked or lost their own livesin rescuing Jewish lives during the Shoah. How do their activities still question us spiritually and ethically? The Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College sponsored this conference in order to examine the implications of this extraordinary human achievement, accomplished in the midst of genocidal violence.
Poster

Whoever Saves a Single Life
March 9-April 17, 2015
This exhibit by the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous showcased some of those rare--but exceedingly important--instances where people fought to safeguard their Jewish fellow citizens during the Holocuast. In a time of overwhelming death and destruction, rescuers did not stand by silently. They chose another way, and their bravery offers us a glimmer of hope. This exhibit was co-sponsored by the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning, the Boston College School of Theology & Ministry, and the Boston College Libraries.

J.S. Bach's St. John Passion: A Performance and Discussion on Anti-Semitism
February 27, 2015
Boston Baroque performed J.S. Bach's well-known and controversial oratorio St. John Passion for the first time ever. Prof. James Bernauer, SJ, Director of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning, spoke as part of the pre-concert panel discussion on anti-Semitism.

Linda Gradstein
February 18, 2015
As part of the Jewish-Christian Lecture Series, Jerusalem-based NPR reporter Linda Gradstein spoke to Prof. Mark Oppenheimer's "Writing About Religion" class to discuss the dilemmas of covering Jewish/Muslim/Christian ethnic and religious conflict for a secular news organization. She also has branched into documentary and video journalism, and discussed how new media are facilitating better religious and ethnic storytelling.

Michael R. Simone, S.J.
November 5, 2014
Michael R. Simone, S.J., of the School of Theology and Ministry, led a discussion with the Jewish-Christian Dialogue Group on his paper "Whose Spirit? A Discussion of Divine Immanence."

Alan Rosen
November 4, 2014
As part of its Jewish-Christian Lecture Series and in Commemoration of the 76th Anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Center hosted a public lecture by Alan Rosen, "Turning Disaster Inside Out: Commemorating the Holocaust to Transform the Future."

Dr. Mark Oppenheimer
September 17, 2014
The 2014-2015 Corcoran Visiting Professor, Dr. Mark Oppenheimer, led a discussion with the Jewish-Christian Dialogue Group on the paper "Next Year in Jerusalem" by the late Jewish feminist critic and reporter Ellen Willis.

2013-2014 Programs

The Gospel of John and the "Parting of the Ways"
April 8, 2014
The Center co-sponsored (with the School of Theology and Ministry) a lecture by Adele Reinhartz, F.R.S.C. on the Gospel of John.

John XXIII and John Paul II: "The Human Rights Popes"
April 2, 2014
Prof. Gerald Beyer delivered a lecture commemorating the canonization of John XXIII and John Paul II. 

Jewish Thinking about Islam and Christianity in Medieval Spain
March 25, 2014
As part of its Jewish-Christian Lecture Series, the Center hosted a lecture by Prof. Jonathan Decter on Jewish literature in the Islamic World during the medieval period.

Jews, Christians, & Visuality
March 9-10, 2014
The 2014 Corcoran Chair Conference brought together art historians, historians, and scholars of text and culture to consider such topics as image as text, iconography as exegesis, the book as material culture icon, and the possibilities for (and discontents of) historical localization and contextualization.
Program

In Quest of the Jewish Mary
February 25, 2014
The Center co-sponsored (with the School of Theology & Ministry) a lecture by Mary Christine Athans, B.V.M. which explored what Mary's experiences might have been as a Jewish woman, including her prayer life.

The Jewishness of Jesus: Renewing Christian Appreciation
February 16, 2014
Rev. Dr. Christian M. Rutishauser, S.J., Provincial of the Swiss Jesuits, delivered the Third Annual John Paul II Lecture in Christian-Jewish Relations. 

"The Tragic Couple": Encounters Between Jews and Jesuits
February 12, 2014
The Center for Christian-Jewish Learning hosted a reception on the occasion of this publication (Brill 2013), edited by Prof. James Bernauer, S.J., Kraft Family Professor and Director of the Center, and Dr. Robert Maryks, Jesuit Institute Visiting Scholar.

T. S. Eliot, Anti-Semitism, and the Problem of Cumulative Effect
February 7, 2014
The Center hosted a luncheon lecture and discussion led by Prof. Jayme Stayer, S.J. on the poet T. S. Eliot.

Abraham Joshua Heschel
January 30, 2014
As part of the Center's Jewish-Christian Lecture Series, Prof. Susannah Heschel spoke about her father's theological method in the context of Christian theology and philosophies of religion.

Through a Lens Darkly
November 13, 2013
Prof. John Michalczyk and Prof. Raymond Helmick, S.J. led a discussion with the Jewish-Christian Dialogue Group on their book Through a Lens Darkly: Films of Genocide, Ethnic Cleansing, and Atrocities (Peter Lang Publishers, 2013). Prof. Helmick introduced the notion of genocide, Prof. Rifat Sonsino spoke about the Armenian genocide, and Prof. Michalczyk elaborated on the growing consciousness of the Shoah through the visual image.

Gavriel D. Rosenfeld
November 7, 2013
As part of the Center's Jewish-Christian Lecture Series, Prof. Gavriel Rosenfeld, Prof. of History and Director of the Undergraduate Program in Judaic Studies at Fairfield University, delivered a lecture based on his book Building after Auschwitz: Jewish Architecture and the Memory of the Holocaust (Yale, 2011).

Marc Michael Epstein, Jewish-Christian Dialogue Group
October 2, 2013
Prof. Marc Michael Epstein, the 2013-2014 Corcoran Visiting Chair in Christian-Jewish Relations, led a discussion with the Jewish-Christian Dialogue Group based on his article "Jewish Visuality: Myths of Aniconism and Realities of Creativity."

Out of Cordoba
September 18, 2013
The Center co-sponsored (with Islamic Civilization & Societies Program) a viewing of Out of Cordoba, a documentary about Averroes the Muslim, and Maimonides the Jew, the two leading thinkers of Islamic Spain. The film explores the historical importance of these two "wise men of Cordoba," as well as their contemporary impact on today's Jews, Muslims, and Christians, and interfaith relations.

2012-2013 Programs

Encountering Afresh the Mystery of Good and Evil: New Documentary Films by Pierre Sauvage and Enduring Jewish, Christian, and Secular Perspectives
April 22-23, 2013
The Center sponsored a two-day conference on the themes of good and evil. Pierre Sauvage, of the Chambon Foundation and Varian Fry Institute, gave the Keynote Presentation which included his films Three Righteous Christians and selections from And Crown Thy Good: Varian Fry in Marseille. The conference was generously supported by the Agoos Charity Fund.
Conference Program

The Psalter in Words, Art, and Music
April 14, 2013
The 2013 Corcoran Chair Conference on the Psalms was an interdisciplinary and interfaith gathering of scholars, musicians, and artists. Prof. Marc Brettler of Brandeis University delivered the Keynote Address. 
Conference Program

How the Catholic Church Overcame its own Theology and Discovered that God Loves the Jews
April 7, 2013
Prof. John Connelly of the University of California at Berkeley delivered the Center's annual Yom HaShoah lecture. His lecture was based on his latest book From Enemy to Brother: The Revolution in Catholic Teaching on the Jews, 1933-1965 (Harvard University Press, 2012). Dr. Victoria Barnett of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC and Dr. Philip A. Cunningham of St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia were lecture respondents.

The Pope's Last Crusade: How and American Jesuit Helped Pope Pius XI's Campaign to Stop Hitler
March 25, 2013
As part of the Center's Jewish-Christian Lecture Series, award-winning reporter and author Peter Eisner spoke about his most recent book (William Morrow, 2013). This lecture was co-sponsored by the History Department Core Program.

"Mind the Gap": Bridging One Dozen Lacunae in Jewish-Catholic Dialogue
March 20, 2013
Rabbi Michael J. Cook, Ph.D., Bronstein Prof. of Judeo-Christian Studies at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, delivered the Second Annual John Paul II Lecture in Christian-Jewish Relations. 
Lecture Booklet

Accompanying Handout Booklet

Philip Endean, SJ, Jewish-Christian Dialogue Group
March 13, 2013
Philip Endean, SJ, of the University of Oxford and the current Gasson Professor at Boston College, led a discussion with the Jewish-Christian Dialogue Group on John Connelly's From Enemy to Brother: The Revolution in Catholic Teaching on the Jews, 1933-1965 (Harvard University Press, 2012).

Alan Wolfe, Jewish-Christian Dialogue Group
February 13, 2013
Alan Wolfe, Ph.D., Director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College, led a discussion with the Jewish-Christian Dialogue Group on the draft of a chapter from the book on Jewish themes that he is currently writing.

Musical Testimony and the Holocaust
November 8, 2012
Joseph Toltz, from the University of Sydney, gave a public lecture titled "Musical Testimony and the Holocaust." The event was co-sponsored by the Center, the Institute for the Liberal Arts, the Music Department, and the Jesuit Institute.

Transposing Broadway
November 7, 2012
Prof. Stuart Hecht, Associate Professor in the Boston College Theater Department, spoke to the Jewish-Christian Dialogue Group on his recently published book Transposing Broadway: Jews, Assimilation, and the American Musical (2011).

Maimonides and Gersonides
November 1, 2012
As part of the Center's Jewish-Christian Lecture Series, Prof. Alfred L. Ivry (Professor Emeritus, New York University, Skirball Professor of Jewish Thought) gave a lecture titled "Maimonides and Gersonides on Omniscience and Free Will." The event was co-sponsored by the Center and the Institute of Medieval Philosophy and Theology.

A Jesuit Spiritual Insurrection
October 3, 2012
Prof. James Bernauer, SJ, Center Director and Kraft Family Professor, spoke to the Jewish-Christian Dialogue Group about the Center's July 2012 international conference on Jesuits and Jews and his own contribution to the conference, "A Jesuit Spiritual Insurrection."

2011-2012 Programs

"The Tragic Couple": Encounters Between Jews & Jesuits
An International Conference
July 9-13, 2012
Driven by a desire for deepening the understanding and friendship between the Jewish people and the Society of Jesus, the Center organized an international conference on the history, nature, dynamics, and current status of the relation between Jews and Jesuits. It brought together scholars of different backgrounds to converse on this topic from an interdisciplinary perspective: biblical exegesis, history, literature, philosophy, theology, and spirituality.
Conference Flyer

Conference Program

The John J. Burns Library at Boston College also hosted an exhibit in conjunction with "The Tragic Couple" Conference.
Exhibit Flyer

Absolved from the Guilt of the Past? Memory as Burden and as Grace in the Post-War Lives of Perpetrators of the Shoah
April 19, 2012
Prof. Katharina von Kellenbach, Professor of Religious Studies at St. Mary's College of Maryland, gave a public lecture commemorating Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. Her current research project and forthcoming publication "The Mark of Cain": Prison Chaplains Counsel Perpetrators of the Shoah is based on the historical records of prison chaplains' pastoral work with Nazi perpetrators in post-war Germany and examines the political implications of the Christian theological emphasis on forgiveness. 

Lights of the Past, Enlightening the Future
April 18, 2012
Boston Inter-Religious Dialogue Students (BIRDS) at Boston College held a Christian-Jewish prayer service commemorating Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Prayer Service Program

Cursing the Christians? The History of the Birkat Haminim
April 18, 2012
Prof. Ruth Langer, Associate Director of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning and Professor of Jewish Studies at Boston College, gave a presentation and led a discussion with the Jewish-Christian Dialogue Group on her recent publication Cursing the Christians? A History of the Birkat Haminim (Oxford University Press, 2012).

Levinas, Biblical Exegesis, and Literature
March 18-19, 2012
The 2012 Corcoran Chair Conference was an interfaith and interdisciplinary gathering of philosophers, theologians, and literary scholars. Its purpose was to study how the newly expanded Levinas corpus can help us be better readers of the Bible and literature in general. Keynote speakers were Dr. Catherine Chalier, Professor of Moral Philosophy and Jewish Thought at the University of Paris; Dr. Sean Hand, Professor of French at the University of Warwick; and Dr. Marvin A. Sweeney, Professor of Hebrew Bible at the Claremont Lincoln University and the Claremont School of Theology.
Conference Program

Pope John Paul II on Christian-Jewish Relations: His Legacy, Our Challenges
March 1, 2012
Rev. John T. Pawlikowski, OSM, Ph.D. gave the Center's inaugural Annual John Paul II Lecture in Christian-Jewish Relations. Rev. Pawlikowski is a Professor of Social Ethics at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and Director of the Catholic-Jewish Studies Program at the CTU's Cardinal Joseph Bernardin Center; he is the author of more than fifteen books on Christian-Jewish relations and a leading figure in Christian-Jewish dialogue worldwide. 
Copy of lecture

Maritain in America: The Turbulent History of the Committee of Catholics for Human Rights
February 15, 2012
Prof. Charles Gallagher, SJ, an assistant history professor at Boston College, lead a discussion with the Jewish-Christian Dialogue Group about his research on the efforts of some Catholics to articulate anti-Semitism as a violation of human rights.

Cushing, Spellman, O'Connor: The Surprising Story of How Three American Cardinals Transformed Catholic-Jewish Relations
February 7, 2012
Rabbi James Rudin spoke about his latest book, which explains how Cardinals Richard Cushing and Francis Spellman influenced the Second Vatican Council to adopt Nostra Aetate and how Cardinal John O'Connor transformed that document's sentiments into practical results a general later. 

The Christian Churches in Nazi Germany
November 17, 2011
Prof. Kevin Spicer, C.S.C., the James J. Kenneally Distinguished Professor of History at Stonehill College, gave a public lecture on the relationships between Christian churches--both the Roman Catholic and the Protestant churches--and the German state under National Socialism. This event was part of the Center's Christian-Jewish Lecture Series.

Yom Kippur in Amsterdam
November 16, 2011
Prof. Maxim Shrayer, Professor of Russian, English, and Jewish Studies at Boston College, led a discussion with the Jewish-Christian Dialogue Group on his collection of short stories Yom Kippur in Amsterdam (Syracuse University Press, 2009). The eight short stories trace the lives and relationships of Jewish-Russian immigrants, poignantly exploring Jewish-Christian relations and specifically focusing on Jewish-Catholic love, marriage, and conversion.

Re-establishing the Internal "Thou" in Testimony of Trauma
October 13, 2011
Dr. Dori Laub, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Yale University and a psychoanalyst in private practice, spoke on the creative narration that may emerge from and ameliorate trauma, highlighting the efforts of individual victims to distill a kind of "moral history" from trauma. Dr. Laub also discussed the nature of the therapeutic action of psychoanalysis, particularly how the simultaneous elusiveness and insistence of trauma, and the consequent distortion of experience (Nachtraglichkeit), affect a victim's hard-won path to recollection. This event was cosponsored by the Center and the Psychoanalytic Studies Program and was part of the Center's Christian-Jewish Lecture Series.

The Theology of the Book of Jonah
October 5, 2011 
Prof. Theodore A. Perry, the Center's 2011-2012 Corcoran Visiting Chair in Christian-Jewish Relations, led a discussion with the Jewish-Christian Dialogue Group on the Book of Jonah, based in part on his book The Honeymoon is Over: Jonah's Arguments with God (Hendrickson, 2006). 

Beyond Catholic-Jewish Dialogue: A New Paradigm for the 21st Century
October 4, 2011
In the Fourth Annual School of Theology and Ministry Lecture, cosponsored by the STM and the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning, Rabbi Daniel L. Lehmann spoke about the progress made in Catholic-Jewish relations in the decades following the Holocaust and Vatican II. While dialogue was the model for this sacred work in the latter part of the 20th century, Rabbi Lehmann presented a new metaphor and a new vision for the 21st century: Jews and Christians as "learning partners." Rabbi Lehmann is a Jewish innovator who has devoted his career to pluralistic Jewish education. He is the president of Hebrew College in Newton, MA. Rev. David C. Michael--the pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Needham, MA and Associate Director, Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the Archdiocese of Boston--was the evening's respondent. 

Representation of the Holocaust in Film
September 27, 2011 
Sharon Pucker Rivo, co-founder and Executive Director of the National Center for Jewish Film, spoke on issues of antisemitism shown in film. She addressed how film about the Holocaust can educate, and with respect to rescue, inspire others to have the courage to stand up against oppressive forces. This lecture was part of the Center's Christian-Jewish Lecture Series.

Spirituality and Action: An Introduction to the Life and Works of Abraham Joshua Heschel
September 20, 2011
Prof. Edward K. Kaplan of Brandeis University spoke on the life and writings of Abraham Joshua Heschel, one of the most beloved and influential Jewish theologians of his day, and how they provided a meeting ground for Christians, Jews, and Muslims on such topics as prayer, mysticism, religious education, the Holocaust, Israel and the Diaspora, interfaith relations, civil rights, and the Vietnam war. This lecture was part of the Center's Christian-Jewish Lecture Series.

2010-2011 Programs

Moving Toward Reconciliation: From Painful Past to Hopeful Future
April 11, 2011
A Christian-Jewish Prayer Service was hosted by Boston Inter-Religious Dialogue Students (BIRDS) at Boston College. 
Prayer Service Program

Competing Discourses: Jewish-Christian Dialogue in a Multifaith World, Christian Scholars Group Annual Meeting
April 8-10, 2011
The Center hosted the Christian Scholars Group for their 2011 Annual Meeting.  A public forum included panelists Dr. Catherine Cornille, Dr. Peter Pettit, Dr. Jennifer Peace, Dr. Mary Boys, and Dr. Jean-Pierre Ruiz.

Are Jews and Christians Living in a Post-Polemical World? Toward a Comparison of Medieval and Modern Christian-Jewish Encounters 
March 28-29, 2011
In the 2011 Corcoran Chair Conference, nine scholars from various disciplines explored the question of whether our world is truly post-polemical given all the changes in atmosphere and the emerging dialogue in Christian-Jewish relations. The first part of the conference examined medieval polemics while the second part of the conference focused on the contemporary scene. Dr. David Berger, Professor of Jewish History at the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies of Yeshiva University, delivered the keynote address "The Shifting Dynamic of the Jewish-Christian Encounter from the Middle Ages to the Present." Other presenters included Dr. Daniel J. Lasker, Dr. Robin Vose, Dr. Alexandra Cuffel, Dr. Irven Resnick, Dr. Mary C. Boys, Dr. Eugene Korn, Rev. Dr. Christopher M. Leighton, and Dr. Adam Gregerman. 
Conference Program

Revolt of the Colonized, Prof. Susannah Heschel
March 16, 2011
Prof. Heschel, Eli Black Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College, led a discussion with the Jewish-Christian Dialogue Group based on her article "Revolt of the Colonized: Abraham Geiger's Wissenschaft des Judentums as a Challenge to Christian Hegemony in the Academy." 

Street Smart: New York City's Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese, Prof. Richard Blake, SJ
November 17, 2010
Prof. Blake, co-director of the film studies program at Boston College, led a discussion with the Jewish-Christian Dialogue Group based on his book Street Smart: The New York of Lumet, Allen, Scorsese, and Lee. Prof. Blake compared and contrasted the stories, character portrayals, and themes of the quintessentially New York filmmakers Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese.

T. S. Eliot and Anti-Semitism, Dr. Jayme Stayer, SJ
October 25, 2010
Dr. Stayer, a student at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, gave a lecture on recent developments in the scholarship on rhetorical analysis of anti-Semitism in the work and letters of T. S. Eliot. An expert on the work of the 20th-century poet and critic, Dr. Stayer is finishing a book project, Becoming T. S. Eliot: The Rhetoric of Voice and Audience in Inventions of the March Hare, and serves on the Board of Directors of the T. S. Eliot Society.

Changing Face of the Jewish-Christian Debate, Prof. Daniel Lasker
October 13, 2010
Prof. Daniel Lasker, the new Corcoran Visiting Professor at the Center, led a discussion with the interdisciplinary Jewish-Christian Dialogue Group on the "Changing Face of the Jewish-Christian Debate." The discussion was based on two readings: "The Book of Nestor the Priest,"  a Jewish polemical text from the Middle Ages, and Jews and 'Jewish Christianity' (1978) by David Berger and Michael Wyschogrod, a contemporary and consistently respectful Jewish text. 

The Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest's Journey to Uncover the Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5 Million Jews, Fr. Patrick Desbois
September 26, 2010
This public lecture featured Fr. Desbois, a French Catholic priest and president of the Yahad-In Unum Association, who has devoted his life to confronting antisemitism and furthering Catholic-Jewish understanding. Since 2001, working closely with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum--whose archives are aiding his search, Desbois and his team have crisscrossed the countryside in Ukraine in an effort to locate every mass grave and site at which Jews were killed during the Holocaust. To date, they have identified 800 of an estimated 2,000 locations. They are collecting artifacts and recording testimonies from eye witnesses--many of whom are speaking publicly for the first time. Fr. Desbois' book The Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest's Journey to Uncover the Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5 Million Jews is the winner of the 2008 National Jewish Book Award.

2009-2010 Programs

Terrorism and Self-Determination in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Tomis Kapitan
April 23, 2010
Sponsored by the Israeli-Palestinian Graduate Seminar, this public lecture featured Tomis Kapitan, a specialist in the International Ethics of Terrorism and a professor of Philosophy at Northeastern Illinois University.

Was There a "Golden Age" of Christian-Jewish Relations?
April 14-15, 2010
In this two-day international conference, twelve Jewish and Christian scholars, in a series of panels, explored historical periods which might be considered "Golden Ages" during which Jews and Christians lived together harmoniously. The scholars included Jonathan S. Ray, Margaret Jennings, Yaacov Ariel, Eliya Ribak, Jonathan Elukin, Magda Teter, Hillel Kieval, Debra Kaplan, Francesca Bregoli, Miriam Godian and David Katz. The Most Reverend bishop Richard J. Sklba, Archdiocese of Milwaukee, delivered the keynote address: Is This the Golden Age of Christian-Jewish Relations? 

The Aryan Jesus: Christian Theologians and the Bible in Nazi Germany, Susannah Heschel and Kevin P. Spicer, C.S.C.
April 12, 2010 
In this public lecture, Susannah Heschel addressed the theme of her 2008 book in which she examines the membership and activities of the Institute for the Study and Eradication of Jewish Influence on German Religious Life. Based on years of archival research, Heschel shows that during the Third Reich this Institute became the most important propaganda organ of German Protestantism, exerting a widespread influence and producing a nazified Christianity that placed antisemitism at its theological center. Members of the Institute formed a community of like-minded Nazi Christians who remained active in Germany's post-war years. Kevin Spicer, C.S.C., professor of History at Stonehill College responded to Heschel. 

The Jesuit Order as a Synagogue of Jews: Jesuits of Jewish Ancestry and Purity of Blood Laws in the Early Society of Jesus, Robert A. Maryks
February 24, 2010
On the occasion of the publication of his book The Jesuit Order as a Synagogue of Jews, Robert Maryks explained how Christians with Jewish family backgrounds went within less than 40 years from having a leading role in the Foundation of the Society of Jesus to being prohibited from membership in it. In his book, Maryks works at the intersection of two important historical topics--the early modern histories of the Jesuit order and of Iberian "purity of blood" concerns. His analysis of pro- and con-verso texts advances our understanding of early modern institutional Catholicism as religious reform interacted with the new racism in Spain and its broader diffusion.

Freud's "Moses and Monotheism": In its Historical Setting, Michael Mach
February 16, 2010
Mach contended that Freud's last work "Moses and Monotheism" has remained a puzzling piece even 70 years after its publication. Attempts to solve the riddle by "analyzing" Freud's personal problems may have brought some insights, and yet they do not explain the inconsistencies in "Moses" nor Freud's obsession with it. Mach suggested that we read it as part of the anti-Facist literature that had brought forth a series of "historical novels" mostly by German writers in exile but also sometimes within Germany as well. Mach's proposed interpretation is that Freud's text be considered a work of literary fiction with a political aim.

The Word Set Free: Presenting the New Testament in its First Century Context, Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., David Michael, and Celia Sirois
January 27, 2010
This Colloquium paid tribute to Fr. Harrington for his many contributions to help bridge the historic chasm between Judaism and Christianity, and it marked the 2009 publication of his book The Synoptic Gospels Set Free: Preaching without Antisemitism. It opened with a presentation by Daniel Harrington, S.J. Three panelists with academic and pastoral experience in the American context engaged with Fr. Harrington, each other, and the audience to explore the pastoral and educational implications of Fr. Harrington's presentation. 

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Where We Are and How We Got There, Mark Tessler
December 17, 2009
Sponsored by the Israeli-Palestinian Graduate Seminar, this public lecture featured one of America's most distinguished specialists in the Arab-Israeli conflict, Mark Tessler, Samuel J. Eldersveld Collegiate Professor and Director of the International Institute at the University of Michigan. 

Anti-Americanism and Antisemitism: The Uneasy Connection, Robert Wistrich
November 5, 2009
This event was a public lecture given by Robert Wistrich, the director of the Vidal Sassoon International Center for the Study of Antisemitism at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 

2008-2009 Programs

From Denial to Acceptance: Holy See-Israel Relations, H. E. Mordechay Lewy
June 17, 2009
In the aftermath of Pope Benedict XVI's pilgrimage to the Holy Land, May 8-15, 2009, the Center presented this public lecture by the Ambassador of Israel to the Holy See, H. E. Mordechay Lewy. His lecture inaugurated a closed working conference held on June 18, 2009 on The Holy See and Israel: The Diplomacy of Engagement. 

The Rescue of Jews by Non-Jews During the Holocaust, Mordecai Paldiel
April 21, 2009
This public lecture by the former director of the Department of the Righteous at Yad Vashem helped mark the 2009 Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Paul of Tarsus: Apostle to the Gentiles in His Jewish Context
March 15-16, 2009
With this two-day public conference, the Center marked the Church's Jubilee Year dedicated to Paul. It honored the memory and contributions of the Pauline scholar, Bishop Krister Stendahl. The following scholars presented papers at the conference: Alan Segal, Barnard College; Ruth Langer, Boston College; Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., Boston College; Bernadette Brooten, Brandeis University, Thomas Stegman, S.J., Boston College; Adam Gregerman, Institute for Christian-Jewish Studies, Baltimore; Pheme Perkins, Boston College; Shaye J.D. Cohen, Harvard University. Tributes to the late Krister Stendahl were offered by Helmut Koester, Harvard Divinity School, Daniel Harrington, S.J., Pheme Perkins, and Bernadette Brooten.

Celebrating the Life and Ministry of Fr. Stanislaw Musial, S.J.
March 4-6, 2009
The Center co-sponsored this major conference in Krakow, Poland, which marked the 5th anniversary of Fr. Musial's death. Fr. Musial (1938-2004), a pioneer of Jewish-Christian reconciliation in Poland, was intensely committed to combating antisemitism. He was one of the strongest and most forthright voices in the Polish Catholic Church for tolerance and mutual understanding, and was intensely devoted to combating antisemitism and xenophobia. James Bernauer, S.J. presented the paper "From European Anti-Jesuitism to German Anti-Jewishness: A Tale of Two Texts." Other prominent speakers included Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwicz, Archbishop of Krakow, and Rabbi David Rosen, International Director of Interreligious Affairs of the American-Jewish Committee.

Israel After the Election, Raymond Cohen
February 26, 2009
This was a public lecture given by the Center's Corcoran Visiting Chair.

Remembering Auschwitz and the Beginning of Jewish-Christian Dialogue, Paolo Gamberini, S.J.
November 6, 2008
Paolo Gambarini, S.J. professor of Theology at the Pontifical Theological Faculty San Luigi, Naples, presented this public lecture in commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of Kristallnacht.

2007-2008 Programs

Palms, Fish, and Fountain: The Jewish and Christian Contexts of the Hammam Life Synagogue, Robin Jensen and Steven Fine
March 27, 2008
The Center co-sponsored this public event with the McMullen Museum of Art in conjunction with the exhibition Tree of Paradise: Jewish Mosaics from the Roman Empire.

Responding to International Conflict: Challenges for Christian-Jewish Dialogue
November 7 and 14, 2007
On November 7, David Hollenbach, S.J., Rodeny L. Petersen, and Rabbi Or Rose addressed the topic "Jewish and Christian Approaches to Peacemaking and War." 
A week later, on November 14, Ruth Lautt, O.P. Founder and National Director of Christians for Fair Witness of the Middle East spoke on "The Church's Witness on Issues in the Arab-Israeli Conflict." Ruth Langer, Center Associate Director, responded. 

2006-2007 Programs

Blasphemy, Free Expression, and Journalistic Ethics
March 26, 2007
This one-day conference examined conflicts that arise when religious values confront the journalistic ethics of free speech and free press. In the wake of such controversies as the Danish anti-Islamic cartoons and Pope Benedict's lecture at the University of Regensburg, the conference explores the role of religious sensibilities in a free press. Co-sponsored with the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College, Eastern Nazarene College, the Jesuit Institute, Boston College Magazine, and the Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics. Speakers include Charles Haynes, the First Amendment Center; Imam Talal Eid, Islamic Institute of Boston; Lawrence Lowenthal, American Jewish Committee; Rev. Edward M. O'Flaherty, SJ, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston; Eric Severson, Eastern Nazarene College; Monica Brady-Meyron, WBUR/NPR; Michael Paulson, The Boston Globe; Gustav Neibuhr, Syracuse University; Hanna Rosin, The Washington Post. 

From Revenge to Reconciliation: An Israeli and a Palestinian Find Hope After the Violent Death of Family Members
March 20, 2007
Ali Abu Awwad from Hebron and Nella Cassouto from Jerusalem described the painful losses their families have experienced and how they have turned to reconciliation as their hope for the future. Moderated by Thomas J. Fitzpatrick, SJ, Director of the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Jerusalem, this program was cosponsored by the Center and the Gasson Chair in Theology, the BC Jesuit Community, the Jesuit Institute, and the Office for University Mission and Ministry.

Understanding Christian Support for Israel, JoAnn Magnuson and Philip A. Cunningham
March 14, 2007
In times of prolonged conflict, opinions tend to become polarized. Civil and reasoned discussions that present various viewpoints become more difficult to achieve, causing the situation to deteriorate even further. JoAnn Magnuson, Interfaith Relations Director of Bridges for Peace, is an "Evangelical Protestant and self-confessed Christian Zionist" who brought these perspectives to the conversation. In this presentation, she discussed key issues in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with a view to supersessionism and restorationism. Philip A. Cunningham, Executive Director of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning offered a response from a Roman Catholic viewpoint.  

Religious Pluralism without Relativism: The Significance of Jerusalem in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Raphael Jospe
February 19, 2007
This lecture was presented by Dr. Raphael Jospe, author, editor, and professor of Jewish philosophy at Bar Ilan University in Israel. His presentation drew from his experience in interreligious collaboration, including his service as chair of the Jerusalem Rainbow Group, the oldest Christian-Jewish dialogue group in Jerusalem. 

Heschel and King: Legacy and Responsibility, Cornel West
December 10, 2006
One of the most influential religious leaders of the 20th century, Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972) called to, and was heeded by, both Jews and Christians. He passionately challenged Jews and Christiasn to become God's partners in the creation of a just and compassionate world. He marched for civil rights alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. and was a leader in the anti-Vietnam War movement. To celebrate the centennial of Heschel's birth, Andover-Newton Theological School, the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College, the Boston Theological Institute and Hebrew College cosponsored "Spiritual Audacity and Social Justice: Abraham Joshua Heschel--A Centennial Celebration." Featured speakers included Arthur Green, a leading authority on Jewish spirituality and Jewish thought; Susannah Heschel, Heschel's daughter and a noted scholar and activist; and Cornel West, one of the nation's most popular and thought-provoking intellectuals. 

Christ and the Jewish People
October 19-22, 2006
This was an international theological project that began with a consultation held for several days in Aricca, near Rome. The participating scholars spent time exploring this meta-question: How might we Christians in our time reaffirm our faith claim that Jesus Christ is the Savior of all humanity, even as we affirm Israel's covenantal life with God? 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer for Our Times: Jewish and Christian Perspectives
September 17-18, 2006
This Bonhoeffer Centenary Conference at Boston College, was co-sponsored by the Center, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and Andover Newton Theological School. Scholars addressed the following: What is Bonhoeffer's legacy for the Jewish-Christian relationship today? His record of political opposition to Nazism is clear. Does his contribution to Christian ethical reflection and activism have implications for non-Christians? What is Bonhoeffer's place as a theological and political figure in the legacy of the Holocaust? The following Catholic, Jewish, and Protestant scholars reflected on his witness and its legacy for our times. Donald Dietrich, Matthew Hockenos, Marc Krell, Rodney Petersen, Victoria Barnett, Stephen Haynes, Shai Held, Lisa Dahill, Stephen Pope, Or Rose, David Gushee, James Bernauer, and Clifford Green. 

2005-2006 Programs

Never Again? From Auschwitz to Darfur: A Commemoration of the Nazi Genocide through a Current Prism
April 25, 2006
This observance of Yom Hashoah included remarks by Prof. John Michalczyk (Fine Arts): "Have We Forgotten?"; a film clip introduced by Rev. Liz Walker (WBZ-TV4): "Darfur and Genocide"; and Prof. Khalid Kodi: "Reflections." Music was provided by John Letizi and a candle-lighting ceremony was conducted by BC Hillel. Sponsors included the Fine Arts Department, Center for Christian-Jewish Learning, Jewish Studies Program, BC Hillel, Faith Peace Justice Program, and the Jacques Salmanowitz Program.

Fuller Meanings: Christian and Jewish Readings of the Bible
April 24, 2006
An exploration of the Pontifical Biblical Commission's 2001, "The Jewish People and Their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible," this symposium was co-sponsored by the Boston College Theology Department and the Weston Jesuit School of Theology. The event explored how Jews and Christians interpret the Bible--where they differ and where they agree--and suggested how local congregations can make the Bible a richer resource for study and education. Keynoters Gary Anderson and Jon Levenson began the symposium, and were followed by a panel consisting of Philip Cunningham, Daniel Harrington, and Ruth Langer. 

In Our Time: Interreligious Relations in a Divided World
March 16-17, 2006
In a celebration of interreligious collaboration, Brandeis University and Boston College, through its Center for Christian-Jewish learning, co-sponsored a two-day conference to mark the 40th anniversary of Nostra Aetate and explore the nature of interreligious dialogue. The conference provided an exceptional opportunity to explore these topics with a distinguished group of speakers and panelists representing different faiths and traditions. The featured keynoter was Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, who just completed almost twenty years of service as secretary and then president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

Catholics and Jews: The Unfinished Agenda
November 21, 2005
As part of the Center's year-long observance of the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council declaration, Nostra Aetate, this program featured a screening of the film I Am Joseph Your Brother, which charts developments in Catholic-Jewish relations since the Declaration's issuance in 1965. After the film, one of its creators, Rabbi Dr. Ron Kronish offered thoughts on the "unfinished agenda" in Catholic-Jewish relations.

Evangelizing in a Religiously Plural Society, Fr. Tom Ryan, CSP
November 18, 2005
Fr. Tom Ryan, CSP, director of the Paulist Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations in New York City, discussed how Christian evangelization can occur in the context of simple presence and witness, work for justice and peace, the Church's liturgy and prayer, as well as in the more traditional context of proclamation and catechesis.

Estranged [Br]others: Rabbinic Judaism and Early Christianity, Adiel Schremer
November 16, 2005
Adiel Schremer, associate professor of ancient Judaism in the department of Jewish History at Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel, spoke on Jewish-Christian relations in Late Antiquity. 

Seeing Judaism Anew in Our Time
October 9, 2005
A two-part celebration of the 40th anniversary of Nostra Aetate. The first part marked the publication of the Christian Scholars Group's Seeing Judaism Anew: Christianity's Sacred Obligation, featuring many current and former members of the group. The second part was the unveiling of a commemorative painting for the anniversary co-commissioned by the Center and the Archdiocese of Boston. 

Nostra Aetate Today: Reflections 40 Years after Its Call for a New Era of Interreligious Relationships
September 25-28, 2005
This international conference to mark the fortieth anniversary of the promulgation of the declaration Nostra Aetate was hosted by the Institute for the Study of Religions and Cultures with the Cardinal Bea Centre for Judaic Studies of the Pontifical Gregorian University with the co-sponsorship of the Cardinal Bernardin Center at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago; the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College; the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding of Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT; and Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. Over three hundred participants from several dozen countries attended plenary sessions that focused on the way in which people of various faiths have come to a new understanding of their own tradition through engagement with another tradition.

2004-2005 Programs

Healing the Holy Land: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Resources for Peace-Making, Yehezkal Landau
April 21, 2005
Professor Yehezkal Landau discussed the need for a just solution to the conflict in Israel and Palestine that draws upon the spiritual resources of the three Abrahamic families in the Holy Land. 

Christ's Passion: What's at Stake for Christians and Jews? Personal Meditations for Holy Week
March 15, 2005
A panel of four Boston College professors offered personal reflections on the meaning of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus for Christians. Panelists are Philip A. Cunningham, Raymond Helmick, SJ, John Michalczyk, and Louis Roy, OP. 

Early Modern Jewish-Christian Controversies: Spinoza, Modena, and Isaac of Troki, Daniel Lasker
March 15, 2005
Daniel J. Lasker from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev asked if Jewish and Christian polemics changed after the Enlightenment. 

Faith, Scripture, and the Death Penalty: A Jewish and Christian Dialogue, Ruth Langer and Stephen Pope
March 1, 2005
Boston College theologians Ruth Langer and Stephen Pope discussed Jewish and Christian perspectives on capital punishment.

Should Catholics Seek to Convert Jews? A Panel Discussion
February 9, 2005
A panel of Boston College theologians revisited the issues raised by Reflections on Covenant and Mission and discussed their own approaches to the relevant issues. 

The Catholic Church and the Jewish People from Vatican II to Today
October 19, 2004-January 25, 2005
This was a series of conferences occurring at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and organized by the Cardinal Bea Centre for Judaic Studies. The electronic publishing of these lectures in English on this website is made possible by the collaboration of the Cardinal Bea Centre for Judaic Studies and the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College. 

For the Sake of Heaven and Earth: The New Encounter between Judaism and Christianity, Irving Greenberg
October 19, 2004
Rabbi Greenberg, president of the Jewish Life Network/Steinhardt Foundation, is an Orthodox rabbi who for many years has been considering the covenantal relationship between Judaism and Christianity. In his new book, he calls for Christians and Jews to come together in their continuously evolving partnership with God--dual covenants that demand "openness to each other, learning from each other, and a respect for the distinctiveness of the ongoing validity of each other." 

Of Stars and Shamrocks: Boston's Jews and Irish
September 28, 2004
This event was a screening of John Michalczyk's documentary.

2000-2004 Programs

Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik on Interreligious Dialogue: Forty Years Later
November 23, 2003
This was a panel presentation and online conversation on whether the Orthodox Jewish community should participate in theological interreligious dialogue with Christians. 

Interreligious Learning: Christians and Jews Teaching About Each Other
June 16-17, 2002
This event was sponsored by a grant for the Valparaiso Project on the Education & Formation of People in Faith in conjunction with the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning. 

Theologies of Covenant and Christian-Jewish Relations
December 3-4, 2001
This event was co-sponsored by the Rabbinic Committee for Interreligious Dialogue and the Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at Sacred Heart University. 

Liturgical Issues in Christian-Jewish Relations
June 10-11, 2001 

Setting the Agenda for the 21st Century: The Next Stage of Jewish and Christian Dialogue
June 18-19, 2000

For past news, please see our Center Reports. 

 

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2020

May - The Center for Christian-Jewish Learning is pleased to announce the publication of Fr. James Bernauer, S.J., Kraft Family Professor and Director of the Center: Jesuit Kaddish: Jesuits, Jews, and Holocaust Remembrance (Notre Dame Press, 2020)

book

BC Bookmarks

April - Boston College and the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Jesper Svartvik to the 2020-2021 Corcoran Visiting Chair in Christian-Jewish Relations.
Announcement

2019

April - Boston College and the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning are pleased to announce the appointment of Prof. Katharina von Kellenbach to the 2019-2020 Corcoran Visiting Chair in Christian-Jewish Relations.
Announcement

2018

June - Parbeszed Haza, the Jesuit House of Dialogue in Budapest, published a Hungarian edition (Hungarian/English translation) of the Center's 2016 commemorative booklet honoring Fr. Jakob Raile, S.J. as "Righteous Among the Nations" for having risked his life while saving hundreds of Hungarian Jews.
commemorative booklet

Hungarian edition of booklet on Fr. Jakob Raile, S.J.

Hungarian edition's booklet cover

May - Fr. James Bernauer, S.J., Kraft Family Professor and Director of the Center, was the Guest Editor of the issue of Journal of Jesuit Studies devoted to the Jesuits who have been recognized as Righteous by the Holocaust Center in Jerusalem, Yad Vashem. The Journal is an open access.
issue

April - Boston College and the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. John R. "Jack" Miles to the 2018-2019 Corcoran Visiting Chair in Christian-Jewish Relations.
Announcement

2017

June - Boston College and the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning are pleased to announce the appointment of Prof. Announcement Christine Helmer to the 2017-2018 Corcoran Visiting Chair in Christian-Jewish Relations.
Announcement

March - Prof. James Bernauer, S.J., Director of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning and Kraft Family Professor, delivered two lectures March 13 and 14 at Christ the King Church and Vanderbilt University Divinity School, on the topic, "A Human Solidarity: Jews, Jesuits, and Holocaust Remembrance."

The Center announces a recipient of the Center's Junior Scholars Research Grants: Hayyim Rothman, a Philosophy Ph.D. Candidate.

2016

April - Boston College and the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning are pleased to announce the re-appointment of Prof. Adele Reinhartz to the 2016-2017 Corcoran Visiting Chair in Christian-Jewish Relations.
Announcement

The Center announces three recipients of the Center's Junior Scholars Research Grants: Justin Ilboudo, S.J., a Licentiate in Sacred Theology student; Samantha Fazekas, a M.A. in Philosophy student; and Stephen Rugg, a Licentiate in Sacred Theology student.

2015

April - Boston College and the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning are pleased to announce the appointment of Prof. Adele Reinhartz to the 2015-2016 Corcoran Visiting Chair in Christian-Jewish Relations.
Announcement

April - Prof. James Bernauer, S.J., Center Director, delivered a homily for Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Memorial Day) on April 16, 2015 at the Boston College School of Theology & Ministry.
homily

The Center announces two recipients of the Center's Junior Scholars Research Grants: David Clint Burnett, a Ph.D. Theology student, and Zachary Dehm, an M.T.S. student.

2014

June - The Center announces two recipients of the Center's Junior Scholars Research Grants: Jeong Mun Heo and Jeong Cheol Ha, both Boston College Th.M. students.

May - The Center announces Grainne McEvoy, Ph.D. (Boston College, 2014, History) as a recipient of a Junior Scholars Research Grant.

April - Boston College and the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Mark Oppenheimer to the 2014-2015 Corcoran Visiting Chair in Christian-Jewish Relations.
Announcement

2013

May - The Center announces Peter Cajka, a Boston College Ph.D. History Student, as a recipient of a Junior Scholars Research Grant.

March - Boston College and the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning announce the appointment of Prof. Marc Michael Epstein to the 2013-2014 Corcoran Visiting Chair in Christian-Jewish Relations.
Announcement

2012

April - The Center announces two Summer 2012 recipients of the Center's Junior Scholars Research Grants: Cristina Richie, a Boston College master of theology student who will begin her Ph.D. in theological ethics at Boston College in Fall 2012, and James Daryn Henry, a Boston College theology Ph.D. student. 

March - Boston College and the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning announce the re-appointment of Dr. Theodore A. Perry to the Corcoran Visiting Chair in Christian-Jewish Relations for the 2012-2013 academic year.

2011

December - The Center announces three 2011-2012 academic year recipients of the Center's Junior Scholars Research Grants: Susan Legere, a Boston College sociology Ph.D. candidate; Matthew Mohorovich, a Boston College philosophy Ph.D. student; and Iulia Padeanu, a Boston College senior.

May - Celebrating its 10th anniversary year, the Center is recognized for its promotion of interreligious dialogue and research in The Boston College Chronicle.

May - On the occasion of John Paul II's Beatification in Rome on May 1, 2011, the Center establishes an annual John Paul II Lecture in Christian-Jewish Relations. The lecture honors John Paul's many efforts to overcome the  divisions between Christians and Jews.

April - Boston College and the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning announce the appointment of Dr. Theodore A. Perry to the 2011-2012 Corcoran Visiting Chair in Christian-Jewish Relations.
Announcement

April - The Center announces four Summer 2011 recipients of the Center's Junior Scholars Research Grants: Steven Candido, a Boston College junior; Rosemary Chandler, a Boston College sophomore; Caitlyn Duehren, a Boston College M.T.S. student, and Nicholas Wagner, a Boston College M.T.S. student.

2010

December - The Center announces two 2010-2011 academic year recipients of the Center's Junior Scholars Research Grants: Matthew Kruger, a Boston College Theology Ph.D. student, and Jeffrey C. Witt, a Boston College Philosophy Ph.D. candidate.

September - Prof. Daniel J. Lasker begins his appointment as the 2010-2011 Corcoran Visiting Chair.
Announcement

June - Dr. Camille Fitzpatrick Markey is appointed Center Associate Director.

2009

September - Center Director James Bernauer, SJ - Endowed Kraft Professor at Boston College.
Announcement

June - Raymond Cohen appointed Corcoran Visiting Chair, 2009-2010.

2008

April, 29 - Center Director Appointed - James Bernauer, SJ
Announcement

Dr. Audrey Doetzel, NDS appointed Associate Director for Administration and Programming.

September 1 -  Appointment of 2008-2009 Corcoran Visiting Chair - Raymond Cohen.
Announcement

2007

Center Leadership Changes
Announcement

From The Heights: "Speaker addresses rift between Judaism and Christianity"

Center honored for "Building Bridges of Understanding"

2006

Center and C21 Online launch second online mini-course: The Birth of Jesus - Two Gospel Narratives

Center's website receives positive academic review
review

Center co-sponsors international theological consultation near Rome: Christ and the Jewish People
Announcement

Center director in Commonweal: "Uncharted Waters: The Future of Catholic-Jewish Relations"
article

Center sponsors online dialogue and forum on this summer's Israeli-Hezbollah conflict
dialogue

Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, visits Boston College & Brandeis University

Center produces first online mini-course: The Death of Jesus - Four Gospel Accounts. 

2005

Center co-sponsors international theological conference in Rome to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Vatican II declaration: "Nostra Aetate Today"
Announcement

Center and BC Libraries launch new electronic journal, Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations, the official journal of the Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations.

Center's Christian Scholars Group publishes new book: Seeing Judaism Anew: Christianity's Sacred Obligation
Announcement

Center and Archdiocese of Boston commission new painting to mark the fortieth anniversary of Nostra Aetate: "In Our Time"
Announcement

Center launches online slideshow in memory of the life and pontificate of Pope John Paul II: Definer of a New Relationship: John Paul II and the Jewish People

Dr. Audrey Doetzel, NDS appointed Center's Assistant Director for Programs
Announcement

2004

First Center book published, Pondering the Passion: What's at Stake for Christians and Jews?, edited by the Center director
Announcement

Center co-sponsors third annual New Hampshire Jewish-Catholic Seder
Announcement

Center launches new online resource: An Annotated Sourcebook: Jewish Understandings of the Other

Center figures prominently in debate over Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ." See story from @BC: "Impassioned debate"
Article

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Council of Synagogues publishes Walking God's Paths: Christians and Jews in Candid Conversation. This six-part video series for interreligious dialogue among local congregations was produced by the Center. See story from @BC: "Whose Bible?"
Announcement

Article

2003

In memory of Center's founding donor, John Corcoran
Announcement

Center welcomes Torah scroll rescued from the Holocaust to its new home at Boston College
Article

2002

Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, visits the Center and delivers major address.
report

Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations forms; Center at Boston College to serve as administrative headquarters
site

Center's Christian Scholars Group issues: "A Sacred Obligation: Rethinking Christian Faith in Relation to Judaism & the Jewish People."
text

2001

Center sponsors panel discussion with Constantine's Sword author James Carroll
article

The Boston College Chronicle marks the foundation of the Center: "Dealing with Dialogues"