Center for Christian-Jewish Learning
marks 25th-anniversary year
annual Pope John Paul II Lecture on September 9
Rev. Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkoski
The Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at md传媒国产剧 College, one of the nation's leading institutes for Christian-Jewish dialogue and scholarship, is marking its 25th anniversary this academic year.
Among the events being held in celebration of the milestone will be a lecture by the center鈥檚 founding executive director and a conference on the future of the field of Christian-Jewish relations.
Established in 2000 through a gift from late md传媒国产剧 College alumnus John M. Corcoran 鈥�48, the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning (CCJL) is dedicated to fostering the growth of new and mutually enriching relationships between Christians and Jews.
According to Kraft Family Professor and Director Rev. Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkoski, who has led the CCJL since 2022, the center鈥檚 first priority is its educational mission to the students of md传媒国产剧 College. Both he and CCJL Associate Director Professor Rabbi Ruth Langer teach a core theology course called Christianity and Judaism in Dialogue, in addition to other courses.
The center also offers fellowships to students, a stipend in support of a yearlong research project that contributes to Christian-Jewish dialogue and interfaith understanding.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really trying to nourish undergraduate interest in the field,鈥� said Joslyn-Siemiatkoski. 鈥淔or example, we鈥檝e supported a student looking at Christian and Jewish approaches to the migrant crisis and another who proposed an exhibit on local Catholic-Jewish relations for a Holocaust museum in md传媒国产剧.鈥�
鈥淲e consider the education of future Christian leaders in the consequences of Christian rethinking of its relationship with Judaism to be a very important service that we can offer,鈥� said Langer, a professor of Jewish Studies who has been with the center since its launch and served as interim director from 2020 to 2022. 鈥淲e have been a resource for the Jewish students at BC, working with Hillel on its programming and with Campus Ministry on its multi-faith endeavors.鈥�
Rabbi Ruth Langer
The work of the center is also about advancing scholarship on the pressing issues in Christian-Jewish relations today.
鈥渕d传媒国产剧 College has been able to contribute significantly to the growth of the academic study of Christian-Jewish relations,鈥� said Langer. 鈥淭he center was key in the formation of a North American community of discourse among those involved in Christian-Jewish dialogue. It also hosts a listserv which is an important vehicle for sharing thoughts and dialogue, maintaining relationships, and working together on current issues. These [efforts] have been critical in keeping the relationships alive and the dialogue going even as the religious bodies themselves have had to move their resources and personnel elsewhere.
鈥淭he center has also been a partner in a number of international research teams with multi-year projects on complex matters, producing two books and with another in the works.鈥�
Each year, the center hosts a Corcoran Visiting Chair in Christian-Jewish Relations, an eminent scholar who comes to campus to conduct research, offer a public lecture, and teach a class. The Corcoran Visiting Chair for 2025-2026 is , a senior research fellow and lecturer at the Schechter Institute in Israel and a leading scholar on 20th-century Jewish philosopher Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel.
The center also presents lectures, sponsors conferences, and publishes the open-access, peer-reviewed journal .
On September 9, the center鈥檚 anniversary year will kick off with a lecture by Philip A. Cunningham, the inaugural CCJL executive director (2000 to 2007), who is a professor of theology and co-director of the Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations of Saint Joseph鈥檚 University in Philadelphia. He will deliver the 13th Annual John Paul II Lecture in Christian-Jewish Relations titled 鈥淭he Presence of the Holy in the Other: A Spirituality of Christian-Jewish Relations in Polarized Times.鈥� The lecture will be available in person and via Zoom, beginning at 5 p.m.
This year marks the 60th anniversary Nostra Aetate, a groundbreaking declaration from the Second Vatican Council that addressed the relation of the Catholic Church to non-Christian religions, notably condemning anti-Semitism and rejecting the notion that the Jews killed Jesus. Cunningham鈥檚 presentation will explore the spiritual significance of this historic development and its meaning in today鈥檚 context of polarization and war.
Other noteworthy events during the CCJL鈥檚 anniversary year include a private consultation with the next generation of Jewish theologians and communal leaders on November 20 to discuss the legacy of Dabru Emet, a landmark Jewish statement on relations with Christianity.
During March 15-17, the CCJL will host an international group of scholars for a conference on 鈥淢apping the Field of Christian-Jewish Relations.鈥� According to Joslyn-Siematkoski, the interdisciplinary conference is designed to incubate the development of the academic field of Christian-Jewish relations. The event is being supported by a grant from the Institute for the Liberal Arts.
鈥淚 often tell people who ask about the center that it鈥檚 really generational work,鈥� said Joslyn-Siemiatkoski. 鈥淲hatever we鈥檙e doing right now, we鈥檙e building off of what came before. Nostra Aetate shaped how so many Christians thought about Christian-Jewish relations. Jews responded [with Dabru Emet]. Where we are now is because of what previous generations have done. And so the work of the center today is continuing this generational work.鈥�
According to organizers, the conference participants will analyze the range of subjects, disciplines, and methods that exist with the fields鈥� contemporary expression and name and examine the ethical and moral concerns that frequently motivate scholars鈥� work in it.
鈥淭he work of dialogue is necessarily responsive to current events. At the same time, that response relies on a network of relationships that allow trusting conversation across differences. It is crucial that we continue building these relationships and integrate new and younger participants into our conversations,鈥� said Langer. 鈥淲e will be able to bring the wisdom gained from the past 25 years that will help us prioritize areas still needing further scholarly attention.鈥�
Joslyn-Siemiatkoski, who notes that CCJL lectures and other events, offered via webinar and made available via YouTube, have drawn audiences from not only the United States, but Canada, Israel, and throughout Europe. Interest in CCJL goes beyond scholars to include clergy and lay people who are seeking to enhance Christian-Jewish relations in their own communities, he added.
鈥淲e wouldn鈥檛 be here without the vision of the Corcoran family in establishing the center and the support from our generous donors, lay people鈥擟atholics and Jews鈥攚ho have invested in our work,鈥� said Joslyn-Siemiatkoski, who also cited the center鈥檚 success as a testament to BC鈥檚 stewardship and a legacy of University President William P. Leahy, S.J.
To register for the John Paul II Lecture or explore other center offerings, see the CCJL website at聽.