Father Kane garners prestigious CACC award

Honor recognizes his life-long commitment to ecumenical and interfaith endeavors

Father James Kane is shown with David Amico (l.), director for the diocesan Office for Discipleship Formation, and Bruce France, executive director of Capital Area Council of Churches, after receiving the Evelyn Stone Lifetime Achievement Award. (Photo provided)

Father James J. Kane, director of the Commission for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, was awarded the prestigious Evelyn Stone Lifetime Achievement Award by the Capital Area Council of Churches (CACC) on Sept. 25.

Father Kane, who was named as diocesan director for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs in 1982, has been a critical part of ecumenical and interfaith endeavors in the Diocese of Albany for over four decades. Most notably Father Kane participated in two goodwill missions to Israel and Rome that were co-led by Bishop Howard J. Hubbard, Rabbi Martin Silverman and Rev. Robert Lamar in 1983 and 1985. These missions led to the reconstituting of the Jewish-Roman Catholic Dialogue that began in 1968.

Father Kane also participated in the “From Fear to Friendship” Service of Reconciliation and Atonement with the Jews at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on March 23, 1986. The service  took place on Palm Sunday in 1986, when Bishop Hubbard formally apologized on behalf of the church for centuries of antisemitism.

“When Bishop Howard Hubbard appointed Father Kane as the Director of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs in 1982, he said, ‘Jim, this will be for two or three years.’ Here we are 42 years later!” said David Amico, director for the diocesan Office for Discipleship Formation, during his introduction speech for Father Kane. “(Father Kane) served for all of Bishop Hubbard’s time as Bishop and now for over 10 years under Bishop Scharfenberger. … This means that Father Kane has been directly involved in ecumenical and interfaith work for over half of his earthly existence and for essentially all of his priesthood. … So, it seems one would be hard-pressed to find an individual more deserving of a lifetime achievement award!”

Father Kane, who was named an honorary Canon of All Saints Episcopal Cathedral on Nov. 7, 1999, celebrated his 50th anniversary of his Ordination to the Priesthood on May 26, 2021. His five decades of service were recognized by the New York State Senate that same day. In 2023, Father Kane, who also participated in the planning of the Billy Graham Crusade in July 1990 in Albany, was recognized for his 40-plus years of ecumenical and interfaith dialogue, collegiality and respect for religious differences at Congregation Agudat Achim in Niskayuna. And most recently, with antisemitism at record levels, Father Kane was the driving force behind a Jewish-Catholic gathering titled “Stand up to Hatred of the Jews” at the famed Portal Statue that faces out on Madison Avenue in Albany next to the Cathedral on June 21. 

“(Father Kane) has done this because he believes with every fiber of his being that ecumenical and interfaith work is not just good, it is necessary and I would even say vital for the betterment of the human family,” Amico said. “Ecumenical and interfaith work, as exemplified by people such as Evelyn Stone and Father Jim Kane, sends the world a powerful and much-needed message: that genuine dialogue is possible, understanding can be achieved, and works of justice and mercy can be accomplished — and better together than in isolation!”

This is only the third time the award has been handed out.

Stone, a choir member of Bethany Baptist Church for over 80 years, was the cornerstone of the CACC and was at the founding of the Federation of Churches that later became the CACC. She was also the first woman president of the organization from 1988-91, and supported its many programs. In 2006, she was presented with the award that bears her name. Nell Stokes, an activist and volunteer, who has been active in the CAAC for over 25 years, also received the award in 2022.