An international and interfaith gathering in Rome brought local rabbi, Alberto (Baruch) Zeilicovich, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions, known as the Nostra aetate, latin for ‘In our time’.
Sixty years ago the Nostra aetate declared that is time to recognize there are positive elements in all faiths, and that religious stereotypes and prejudices can be overcome through interreligious dialogue. In 1965, the document came to officially end any Catholic position against the Jewish people, and that the Catholic Church “decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.”
The anniversary this year was marked by interfaith dialogue and presentations, from a variety of Christian traditions, the Muslim faith, and Buddhist perspectives. Among the Jewish representatives was Rabbi Zeilicovich and his wife Graciela from Aruba’s Beth Israel Synagogue in Oranjestad, Aruba.
Rabbi Zeilicovich gifted the Pope Leon XIV a 50 cent Aruba Florin coin as part of his presentation, remarking on the Aruban square coin that just because the coin is different from all the other coins, it does not diminish the value.
He stated “the same with people, many people are different: different color of skin, different religion, disabilities, and because they are different they don’t have value? Every human being has value regardless the difference, like the 50 cts coin of Aruba. Please your Holiness, accept this coin as a symbol of the spirit of reconciliation, respect and peace of the Nostra Aestate “.
