Jews and Christians, new training programmes

For the first time in history, a Pontifical University will offer a Licentiate in Judaic Studies and Jewish-Christian Relations. The Congregation for Catholic Education has in fact established this new category of canonical Licentiate at the Pontifical Gregorian University, entrusting its management to the “Cardinal Bea” Centre for Judaic Studies. “This is not only exciting for us, but also symbolically relevant,” explains Fr. Etienne Vetö CCN, Director of the Centre. “Built on decades of hard work and bonds of friendship to which it lends testimony, this licentiate not only openly declares the constitutive importance of Judaic studies for Christianity, but also purposely recognises – within the structure of the education of our faith – the powerful mutual enlightenment that occurs when, side by side, we study Revelation. This model can continue to be generated in our communities and our schools. May this novelty set a precedent.”

 

Evening Launch: The Pedagogy of the Dialogue

The new academic path was presented through a special online event, which was recorded and is available for viewing. In his greeting, the Rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University, Fr. Nuno da Silva Gonçalves S.J., underscored how this full academic recognition of the new programme now makes it possible for students who attend it to be awarded a canonical degree that is more readily recognised and put to use.

Fr. Etienne Vetö then presented the new programme of study in detail, while Fr. Norbert Hofmann SDB, Secretary of the Commission for Religious Relations with Jews of the Pontifical Council for promoting Christian Unity, explained the potential impact of the Licentiate on Jewish-Christian relations.

In the second part of the programme, a “taste” was offered of the activity of the “Cardinal Bea” Centre and its specific pedagogical method. Two lecturers representing the different religious traditions, Rabbi David Meyer and Professor Massimo Gargiulo, articulated a dialogue around some passages from the Talmud and from Church Fathers. Rabbi Meyer showed how rabbis offer ways to integrate contrary opinions and how these processes might be used in Jewish-Christian dialogue, and Prof. Gargiulo reflected on some texts of the Fathers, demonstrating how some of them continued to consult rabbis to understand particularly complex passages of the Bible, thus establishing a “tradition of listening to the other”.

 

New Licentiate: How the study is done, what is studied?

The “Cardinal Bea” Centre of the Pontifical Gregorian University is an academic unit composed of both Christian and Jewish scholars, and a significant number of courses and seminaries are delivered in tandem. This type of teaching brings together academic expertise and allows for a living experience of Jewish-Christian relations, fostering an enriching mutual exchange and creating space for dialogue and interaction. “Dialogue calls for hearing two voices, and the witness of Jewish and Catholic instructors who teach together is worth more than many speeches” (Pope Francis, Audience with the “Cardinal Bea” Centre, 28 February 2019).

The two pillars of the courses and seminars of the “Cardinal Bea” Centre, for both the Annual Diploma and the new Licentiate are:

º Judaic Studies, offering a solid and wide preparation on Judaism; 

º Jewish-Christian Relations, training students in the development of a theology of Jewish-Christian relations.

The main areas of in-depth study include: rabbinic literature, Jewish history and philosophy, Jewish liturgy and prayer, Jewish culture and art, contemporary Jewish thought, history and practice of Jewish-Christian relations, Christian theology and Jewish-Christian relations, as well as biblical and modern Hebrew. 

The new Licentiate programme also includes interdisciplinary courses in Biblical Studies, History and Theology, utilising the resources of the different Faculties of the Gregoriana, as well as the Pontifical Biblical Institute and of the Pontifical Oriental Institute. Within the context of an institutional partnership since the Centre’s creation, academic exchange programmes with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem are also significant.

The location of the “Cardinal Bea” Centre in Rome, in close contact with the Holy See, also facilitates collaboration with authoritative exponents of Jewish-Catholic dialogue in the world. The closeness with the Jewish community of Rome – one of the oldest in the West – offers ideal conditions for experiencing dialogue, through encounters, debates, and participation in moments of prayer and liturgy in the synagogues, activities considered part of the formation process.