On the 13th to 16th of May 2019, member of B’nai B’rith Europe Executive Committee,  B’nai B’rith International Senior Vice President and ICHRPP Chair Stéphane Teicher, Executive Board of Directors member Paolo Foa and former president of the B’nai B’rith Rome Lodge Sandro di Castro participated in the 24th meeting of the International Catholic-Jewish Liaison Committee (ILC) in Rome, Italy.

The ILC is a partnership between the Holy See’s Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews and the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations (IJCIC), the coalition of Jewish organizations in charge of official relations with other world religious bodies. The ILC was formed in 1971 in response to the transformative Catholic document Nostra Aetate. 

Prime Minister of Italy Giuseppe Conte, Israel’s Ambassador to the Holy See Oren David, and Germany’s Ambassador to the Holy See Michael Koch attended the ILC community-wide opening event, held at Palazzo della Cancelleria.

The delegates met Pope Francis, who greeted them and expressed appreciation for the ILC focus upon refugees and “the fight against the troubling recrudescence of anti-Semitism, and concern for the persecution of Christians.”

Participants included Jewish and Catholic leaders from Europe, the Middle East, North and South America and Australia, as well as civil and elected officials from Italy, representatives of the State of Israel, the Roman and Italian Jewish communities and the Italian Catholic community. The theme of the meeting was “People, Ideas, and Boundaries on the Move.”

The deliberations focused on the practical and moral challenges of the refugee crisis overwhelming many parts of the world today, with an emphasis on how the two religious communities might provide support for all those who suffer as a result of armed conflicts, political instability and environmental degradation. Additionally, the alarming increase of antisemitism and the violent persecution of Christians in many parts of the world were discussed. Participants also addressed the situation of Catholics and Jews in Italy and recent developments in Catholic-Jewish relations.