The Seton Hill University National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education (NCCHE) will present the Eva Fleischner, Ph.D. Endowed Lecture featuring Dr. Philip Cunningham, Professor of Theology and director of the Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations of Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place on Tuesday, October 15, 2024 at 7 p.m. in Cecilian Hall on the second floor of Seton Hill’s Administration Building.  

The guest lecture by Dr. Cunningham titled, “The State of Catholic-Jewish Relations Today,” is sponsored by the Seton Hill University National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education (NCCHE) through its Eva Fleischner, Ph.D., Endowed Lecture Fund.

The Eva Fleischner, Ph.D. Endowed Lecture Series is named for the late Eva Flesichner, a well-regarded scholar of women in the Holocaust and Jewish-Christian relations, as well as a close associate of the Seton Hill University National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education. The Fleischner family, including her late brother, Hans Fleischner, and his wife, Leslie Fleischner, established the lecture series at Seton Hill to carry on her legacy of scholarship and interreligious dialogue.

Lecture Abstract 

Despite centuries of suspicion and hostility, for nearly six decades Catholics and Jews have been companions on what Pope Francis has called "a journey of friendship" to an enriching new relationship. Today, however, that friendship is being tested by events in the Middle East, by antisemitic outbursts around the world, and by deficiencies in preaching and teaching. This presentation will explore the dynamics of the Jewish and Catholic relationship amid the present crises and suggest ways to continue to deepen it.

About the Speaker

Dr. Philip A. Cunningham is Professor of Theology and director of the Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations of Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA. With a background in biblical studies and religious education, he specializes in theologies of the Christian and Jewish, and especially the Catholic-Jewish, relationship. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books, most recently 2022's Maxims for Mutuality: Principles for Catholic Theology, Education, and Preaching about Jews and Judaism (Paulist Press Stimulus Series) and dozens of articles or book chapters. Dr. Cunningham has served as president and honorary president of the International Council of Christians and Jews and on the Advisory Committee on Catholic-Jewish Relations for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He is also the webmaster of the Internet resource Dialogika of the Council of Centers on Jewish-Christian Relations.