New York, NY, October 20, 2005 … To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Vatican's adoption of Nostra Aetate, the landmark document that launched a new positive relationship between the Church and the Jewish people, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has announced the creation of a new online guide that explains the historic changes in Church theology and provides educational resources in order to teach them.

The online guide, Nostra Aetate: Transforming Catholic-Jewish Relations, includes essays by some of the world's leading Jewish-Catholic interfaith experts who analyze the history and significance of Nostra Aetate, as well as a practical "how-to" guide on teaching the lessons of Nostra Aetate to new generations of Catholics and Jews.

"Nostra Aetate demonstrates that the Church can look at its teachings and behaviors towards Jews and Judaism, question them, challenge them and change them, said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, and Rabbi Gary M. Bretton-Granatoor, ADL Director of Interfaith Affairs.

"The past forty years must be understood as our introduction to each other's community.  We have learned to become comfortable with one another.  We have shared the things that we have in common and demonstrated positive changes are possible if there are willing partners to enter into a dialogue."

Nostra Aetate, Latin for "In Our Time" was adopted by the Second Vatican Council on October 28, 1965 and revolutionized the Catholic Church's approach to Jews and Judaism after nearly 2000 years of persecution by repudiating the "deicide" charge against Jews, dismissing church interest in converting Jews, and reaffirming the eternal covenant between God and the Jewish people.

Contributors to Nostra Aetate: Transforming Catholic-Jewish Relations include: Dr. Eugene J. Fisher, Associate Director of the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs; Dr. Philip A. Cunningham, Executive Director of the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College; Rabbi Leon Klenicki, ADL Interfaith Affairs Director Emeritus; and Rabbi Gary Bretton-Granatoor.
 

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.