Jewish community to honor Bishop

"I must go to Temple Beth Emeth on October 3rd to honor my Bishop."

Those words were spoken by Patricia Snyder, a Jewish woman, when she heard that Bishop Howard J. Hubbard would be honored on that date by the United Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York with the first "Fear to Friendship" award for his efforts in building bridges between religious communities.

The Federation represents all the Jewish agencies and synagogues in the Capital District. The award is deemed so important that it will not be presented annually but only when someone truly deserves it.

For a Jewish person to say "my Bishop" would have been unheard of 40 years ago. The late Suzie Isser, a member of the Jewish-Catholic Dialogue Committee, said once that, in Europe, she would cross the street out of fear to avoid a priest. She also said "she never thought she could trust a Christian." Yet, before she died, she, too, referred to Bishop Hubbard as "my Bishop."

We've made great progress in reconciling with our Jewish brothers and sisters since the Second Vatican Council and its document on interfaith understanding, "Nostra Aetatae."

The award is named after the historic reconciliation service, "From Fear to Friendship," attended by 1,200 Christians and Jews in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany on Palm Sunday in 1986. At that service, Bishop Hubbard enumerated the many ways we Catholics have sinned against the Jews, by commission and omission.

He asked God "to heal the wounds which we in our selfishness and blindness have inflicted -- and free us from the racist and religious stereotypes and prejudices which have enslaved us."

On that day, he set the tone not only for the service but also for our future relationship with the Jewish community in the Capital District. The service was historic: It was the first its kind in the country, and it occurred a month before Pope John Paul II visited the synagogue in Rome. Sam Clevenson, the editor of the Jewish World, in an editorial on March 27, 1986, stated that "the Albany Catholic Diocese under the stewardship of Bishop Hubbard is half-a-dozen steps or more ahead of national and international Catholicism."

Even before that historic day, Bishop Hubbard was reaching out and building bridges between faith communities. In 1983, he led an interfaith mission to Israel and Rome. Many people on that trip are still active in Jewish Catholic dialogue. Later, he sponsored two more missions to Israel, Rome and Geneva, the home of the World Council of Churches.

He has often attended Sabbath services and spoken at area synagogues. Over the years, he has forged a strong interfaith partnership in addressing such issues as hunger, homelessness, criminal justice and drug abuse. And as he has stated, we have also developed a common interfaith witness in responding to crisis situations.

As Bob Ludwig, president-elect of the United Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York, pointed out: "Bishop Hubbard has been a champion of interfaith understanding. His leadership has had an effect not only on our local but also on our state and national communities. Fourteen years ago, it was he who issued an apology for sins Catholics committed against Jews throughout ages past. The United Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York clasps hands and salutes his contributions to ongoing Catholic-Jewish dialogue."

Dr. Eugene Fisher, associate director to the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs at the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, D.C., and a consulter to the Vatican's Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, also feels that Bishop Hubbard has had great influence.

"Bishop Hubbard has quietly, but effectively, been not only a local but also a national leader of the great effort of our time to bring about reconciliation between the Church and the Jewish people," Dr. Fisher said. "Innovations begun in Albany have been models for adaption by other dioceses, and as a consultant member of the Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, Bishop Hubbard has helped shape the course of history of Catholic-Jewish dialogue throughout the country."

We can see from Dr. Fisher's statement what a major impact Bishop Hubbard has had on Catholic-Jewish relations. We are very fortunate to have him as our Bishop. The Fear to Friendship Award is an indication of how much he is revered and respected by those outside the Catholic community.

Let us join with the Jewish Community on Oct. 3 when he receives this prestigious award. Come to Temple Beth Emeth, 100 Academy Rd., Albany, at 7 p.m. and support our Bishop.

(Editor's note: Joan Dunham is a member of the Albany diocesan Commission for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, and has been involved in the Jewish-Catholic Dialogue Committee for years.)

(09-21-00) [[In-content Ad]]