JEWISH FEDERATION
Catholic-Jewish Dialogue finds common ground in Collier County By Martin Gauthier, Catholic-Jewish Dialogue Catholic co-chair, and Leslie Wasserman, Jewish co-chair
T
here’s an old joke — Gregory said in a March indeed, even a whole 2022 address at the Jewish category of jokes — Theological Seminary. “We about a priest, a rabbi and have many, many objectives a minister walking into a that both of our faiths hold bar. The punch lines usually dear, and working together focus on the sheer incongrutoward a common goal that ity of such religious leaders benefits humanity can only actually choosing to spend help to unite us.” time together. In that spirit, our KristallMartin Gauthier Here in Naples, such nacht event alternates locagatherings are no joke. tions between synagogues For more than two decades, and churches each year, with Catholic and Jewish lay leada Jewish guest speaker appearers — joined by local priests ing in church and a Cathoand rabbis as well as congrelic keynote speaker at the gants from both faiths, and Jewish temple. beyond — have met monthly We s h a re l e a d e r s h i p to discuss their shared values responsibilities equally, with and beliefs, find common a 50-50 participation rate ground and build bridges Leslie Wasserman and support from sponsoring across lines that all too often divide. organizations that include the Diocese of The Catholic-Jewish Dialogue of Venice in Florida, the Holocaust Museum Collier County’s signature event is an & Janet G. and Harvey D. Cohen Educaearly-November commemoration of tion Center, and the Jewish Community Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Relations Council of Jewish Federation Glass), which historians consider the of Greater Naples. start of the Holocaust. This year’s event, Through guest speakers, book discusfeaturing keynote speaker Rabbi David sions, films, field trips, and more, we Maayan of Saint Leo University Center explore the social, cultural, theological for Catholic-Jewish Studies, is scheduled and liturgical links between Judaism for Sunday, Nov. 5 at St. Elizabeth Seton and Catholicism. Titles explored include Catholic Church in Golden Gate. To “Jesus: First-Century Rabbi” and the film register, visit https://jfgn.regfox.com/ “Stolen Summer,” a poignant story of kristallnacht-2023-program. the friendship between two young boys, Across the country, such interfaith one Jewish, the other Catholic. conversations took root after the Second Such friendships deeply inform the Vatican Council’s 1965 release of Nostra work of our all-volunteer group, both Aetate, a treatise on interreligious relathe current friendships we forge across tions that rejected antisemitism and boundaries as well as the more formative highlighted the Catholic Church’s close ones from our youth. ties to Judaism. In the case of Martin Gauthier, it Locally, three organizers spearheaded was the countless hours spent with his the Collier County initiative, with each childhood friend, Mark Wolfson, in Manhaving participated in similar efforts elsechester, New Hampshire. More than 75 where before moving to Southwest Floryears after the conversation, I still vividly ida: the late Rabbi Howard Greenstein recall his descriptions of the horrors of of Jewish Congregation of Marco Island; the Holocaust, my 6-year-old mind strugAnn Jacobson, the group’s first Jewish cogling to understand the sheer inhumanity. chair; and Joan Dunham, its first Catholic For Leslie Wasserman, growing up in co-chair. an ethnically diverse neighborhood in A shared understanding of the inherLong Island, New York meant early expoent differences between the two faiths is sure to the mysteries of Catholicism, from critical to our group’s work. We strive to taking Communion to the Sacrament of listen, not persuade; educate, not proselyPenance, better known as confession. tize; and agree to disagree. At a time when the country’s diviThat said, participants quickly realize sions capture most of the attention, that there is far more in common between and bad behavior goes viral regularly, the two seemingly disparate faiths and the Catholic-Jewish Dialogue of Collier their adherents, from rituals and liturgy County has seen a surge of recent interto similarities in clerical clothing. est. That’s a promising indicator that our “As we seek to go outside ourselves and members — and the broader Southwest serve the world with a common purpose, Florida community — continue to we will undoubtedly learn more about yearn for a deeper understanding of the each other, and grow closer together in the forces that bring us together, not drive us process,” Washington Cardinal Wilton further apart.
For a continuously updated community calendar, visit www.jewishnaples.org
November 2023
Federation Star
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Christians & Jews United Against Antisemitism
A GroundbreAkinG event to inform unite And ActivAte Thursday, November 30 - 7:00 P.M. Doors open at 6:30 P.M.
The Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center Jewish Federation of Greater Naples 4720 Pine Ridge Rd. Naples, FL 34119 Register Online: https://christians _ and _ jews _ against _ antisemitism.eventbrite.com/
THE ANNUAL
GREATER NAPLES
MATZAH BALL 55 AND UNDER
JEWISH FEDERATION OF GREATER NAPLES 4720 PINE RIDGE RD. NAPLES, FL 34119
HTTPS://JFGN.REGFOX.COM/MATZAH-BALL-2024
