Itongadol/AJN.- The Seminario promotes the interreligious dialogue with other faiths and cultures with the aim of contributing to the advancement of general knowledge, peaceful coexistence and mutual reverence of the various religious traditions in Latin America.
Rabbi Dr. Abraham Skorka, Rector of our Seminario, was invited to visit the Vatican and was received in private audiences by Pope Francis, with whom they are setting new horizons for the interreligious dialogue between the Jewish and the Catholic worlds. The long and deep friendship between Pope Francis and Rabbi Skorka is very well-known, as they had co-authored a book, Between Heaven and Earth, and had carried on a dialogue with each other in a series that has been aired nationwide on Argentine television.
The Pope received also Rabbi Dr. Mario Hendler who gave him a gift from the Seminario, an art piece that was especially made for him: a claf (parchment) with the Seminario’s logo and the birkat cohanim-priestly blessing both in Hebrew and Spanish. Rabbi Skorka has recently also been visiting some Kehilot in the United States in order to share his close friendship with the Pope, as well as his views about interfaith dialogue and the relationship between the Church and the Jews.
Besides the strong relation with the Vatican, the Seminario has a long-standing tradition of forging leaders in the interfaith dialogue, ever since its founder Rabbi Marshall T. Meyer, brought the far-reaching tradition of interreligious dialogue of his own teacher, Rabbi Abraham J. Heschel, to Latin America. Alumnus rabbis, educators, and youth leaders participate and lead different interfaith initiatives around the world inspiring peaceful coexistence and mutual reverence.