Change, Hope In Jewish-Catholic Talks Tears At Auschwitz May Signal Closer Dialogue Between Faiths

Sun., Jan. 10, 1999

By Rob McDonald robm@spokesman.com

Jet lag still hasn’t worn off for Eric Zuckerman.

The Spokane priest was one of 60 Jesuits who attended a historic fiveday meeting in Poland aimed at improving relations between Judaism and the Catholic Church.

Jesuit leaders wanted Zuckerman to attend because of his unique background: The native New Yorker was raised Jewish.

The experience in Poland changed him.

“All of us changed in some way,” he said Saturday.

Zuckerman left Spokane on Christmas Day. He returned Wednesday and conducted Mass at St. Aloysius Church two days later.

Long a student of Jewish-Catholic tension, Zuckerman said a featured guest at the conference, Rabbi Leon Klenicki, gave him a deeper understanding of the problem.

“Primarily, I think my work will be more with the Catholic community than the Jewish community,” Zuckerman said.

The 46-year-old priest said he can’t shake the memories of walking through Auschwitz.

He saw the rail car entrance and gas chambers. He can’t forget the sight of Klenicki, internationally known representative of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, weeping.

The meeting in Krakow drew participants from the United States, Palestine, Israel, Germany, South Africa, Belgium and other nations.

It ended with Zuckerman and the others writing a document that will be sent to Jesuits worldwide.

The document acknowledges the complexity of the historic conflict between the faiths, vows to deepen mutual understanding and affirms the importance of addressing the problem.

“I was one small part of it,” Zuckerman said. “I came away with a sense of profound hope in the future in the relationship between the Jesuits and the Jewish communities of the world.”

The next gathering is tentatively planned for Jerusalem in the summer of 2000.

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