Photo By Michael Alexander

Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory and Rabbi David Rosen sat down in February in Atlanta to talk about each other’s efforts on behalf of the ongoing dialogue between Jews and Catholics.

Rabbi Rosen is the international director of interreligious affairs of the American Jewish Committee and its Heilbrunn Institute for International Interreligious Understanding.

He is the former Chief Rabbi of Ireland and a past chairman of IJCIC, the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations, a coalition of Jewish organizations representing world Jewry to other religions. Rabbi Rosen received a papal knighthood in 2005 from Pope Benedict XVI for his contribution to Jewish and Catholic reconciliation.

Archbishop Gregory is the past chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.

Also, over the last 25 years, the U.S. Catholic bishops have engaged in two official dialogues with the Jewish community. The dialogues continue to meet once or twice a year and have addressed topics of common concern.

The dialogue with the National Council of Synagogues continues today under the direction of Rabbi Gil Rosenthal, executive director of the National Council of Synagogues, and Archbishop Gregory.