The Lublin Center for Jewish-Catholic Dialogue
ul. Prymasa Wyszynskiego 6, 20 950 Lublin
The Center was founded in Lublin by Archbishop Joseph Życiński in 1999. It is situated in the building of the Metropolitan Theological Seminary where 260 students of two Polish dioceses, 43 students of four Ukrainian dioceses and 78 students of three religious congregations develop their studies. In the Advisory Board of the Center there are well-known Polish intellectuals: Władysław Bartoszewski, Stefan Wilkanowicz, Jakub Weksler-Waszkinel et al.
Rev. Prof. Marian Rusecki, an outstanding theologian of the Catholic University of Lublin, has been director of the Center since 2002. Financial support for the activity of the Center is provided by Archbishop of Lublin. The primary goals of the Center are the following ones:
- To educate the future Catholic priests in the spirit of Jewish-Catholic dialogue in accordance with the doctrine of Vatican II and with the documents of John Paul II.
- To foster the spirit of inter-religious dialogue among the lay students of Catholic University of Lublin by organizing commemorations of Jewish cultural and religious customs in the city of Isaac Singer.
- To organize regional prayers for those inhabitants of typically Jewish cities such as Chełm, Lubartów, Izbica, Łęczna, Piaski, Bełżyce, etc. who were exterminated during the War World II.
- To invite Jewish speakers, mainly theologians and representatives of the world of culture, to develop public appreciation for the Jewish presence in local history and culture.
- To organize public panel discussions dealing with Jewish-Christian cooperation in the domain of values constituting the Judeo-Christian tradition.
As a result of the Center’s activity, honorary doctorate was awarded by Catholic University of Lublin to Rabbi Prof. Elio Toaff of Rome in 2000. Visiting professors appreciated in the domain of Jewish-Catholic dialogue visit the Center systematically inspiring a new positive approach toward Jewish problems in the city described by Isaac Singer in his Magician of Lublin.
