Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations
"Synagoga and Ecclesia in Our Time" by Joshua Koffman depicts the Institute's mission as Church and Synagogue enjoying the study of their sacred texts together. Pope Francis visited the SJU campus in 2015 to bless the sculpture and that mission. [Learn More]
The Story of the Institute
Deepening understanding between Jews and Catholics through shared study since 1967
In 1965, the Second Vatican Council in its declaration Nostra Aetate ("In Our Time") called—for the first time in history—upon Catholics and Jews to join in “biblical and theological inquiry … and friendly discussions.” Believing that rapprochement between Jews and Catholics was integral to the Catholic and Jesuit identity of Saint Joseph's, the Jesuit community founded the Institute, the first such American response to the Council. They defined the Institute's mission as increasing knowledge and deepening understanding between the two communities. The Institute today is directed by a Jewish professor and a Catholic professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies. They regularly team-teach and partner nationally and globally to research Jewish and Christian reconciliation and reform. They promote opportunities for Christians and Jews to be study partners, teaching and learning about themselves and each other by studying and experiencing together texts, rituals, events, and places.
LATEST VIDEOS
Videos
Jerusalem—How Christians Made a Small Pilgrimage Site the World's Most Disputed City
Jerusalem—How Christians Made a Small Pilgrimage Site the World's Most Disputed City
Andrew Lawler explores how 19th-century European Christians, by unearthing biblical sites, began a chain of events that made Jerusalem the world's most disputed city.
Hawks at the Vatican: The Spirit of Synodality Continues
Hawks at the Vatican: The Spirit of Synodality Continues
SJU students Julia Osęka, Matthew Dunne, Joely McMullen, and Joe Pro discuss the emerging understanding of synodality in the Catholic Church and its implications for Jewish-Catholic relations and interreligious dialogue.
Evangelical Understandings of Other Christians, Jews, and Israel
Evangelical Understandings of Other Christians, Jews, and Israel
Dr. Daniel G. Hummel surveys key beliefs and attitudes of evangelicals in relation to other Christians and the tensions at the intersection of evangelicalism and Jewish-Christian relations.
Videos
From Jewbu to Chrislam: How Religions Respond to Religious Hybridity
From Jewbu to Chrislam: How Religions Respond to Religious Hybridity
Prof. Catherine Cornille explores the phenomenon of people combining elements from various religious traditions into their own personal synthesis. Could his hybridity be inspirational for religions?
How Christians Imagined Muslims as the Enemy—Just Like Jews
How Christians Imagined Muslims as the Enemy—Just Like Jews
Dr. David M. Freidenreich uncovers the hidden history of Christian Islamophobia and its surprising connections to long-standing Christian antipathy toward Jews.
The Middle East from a Catholic Perspective
The Middle East from a Catholic Perspective
Rev. Russ McDougall of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops surveys the present Middle East situation from the viewpoint of the Catholic Church.
INSTITUTE NEWS
IJCR NEWS
Detailed academic article published on IJCR's survey of US Catholics on Jews and Judaism
Detailed academic article published on IJCR's survey of US Catholics on Jews and Judaism
A detailed article on a first-ever survey of U.S. Catholics about Jews and Judaism and its implications for Catholic religious education is now available in Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations.
Resource: IJCR Norms for Middle East Programming
Resource: IJCR Norms for Middle East Programming
In 2011, the IJCR Board of Directors approved these principles based on the missions of SJU and the IJCR when treating subjects about conflicts in the Middle East.
Directors' Recent Publications
Directors' Recent Publications
- Dr. Gregerman: Unfulfilled Promise: Pope Francis and the Israel-Hamas War
- Dr. Cunningham: Reflections on Catholic-Jewish Relations in Light of the Israel-Hamas War
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International Collaborations
International Collaborations
Encyclopedia of Jewish-Christian Relations
Encyclopedia of Jewish-Christian Relations
Dr. Cunningham is an advisory board member for this project. He and Dr. Gregerman have been interviewed about authoring articles in it HERE
Enabling Dialogue about the Land
Enabling Dialogue about the Land
The IJCR was a university sponsor of a research project of the International Council of Christians and Jews, leading to a resource book on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by Paulist Press
The Importance of Jesus' Jewish Identity for Christians and for Jews Today
The Importance of Jesus' Jewish Identity for Christians and for Jews Today
IJCR is a cosponsor of the research project, "Christ Jesus the Jew: The Importance of His Jewish Identity for Christians and for Jews Today." (Image: R. Neave: reconstruction of a 1st-century Jewish face.)
Collaborative Resources
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The Institute is a founding member of the Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations (CCJR), a network of centers and institutes in the United States and Canada. The Council publishes the peer-reviewed, open-access online journal Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations.
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The Institute cosponsors with the CCJR a library of resources in Catholic-Jewish relations called Dialogika ("things of dialogue"). The library provides documents from Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and interfaith bodies, educational resources and texts from the history of Catholic-Jewish relations.