As one of the bonus episodes for Beyond Rome, we are sharing conversations from our conference, Called to Friendship: Nostra Aetate at 60.

My Brother’s Keeper: Christians and the New Antisemitism by Mary Eberstadt, Founding Member of the Coalition of Catholics Against Antisemitism

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As one of the bonus episodes for Beyond Rome, we are sharing conversations from our conference, Called to Friendship: Nostra Aetate at 60.

A biographical and theological reflection on O’Connor’s legacy and what it means for the Church today. Cardinal John O’Connor, Archbishop of New York from 1984 to 2000, was one of the most courageous and compassionate voices for Catholic-Jewish reconciliation in the post–Nostra Aetate era. A Navy chaplain turned prince of the Church, O’Connor combined pastoral sensitivity with moral clarity, publicly condemning antisemitism and forging deep relationships with Jewish leaders in New York and beyond. In his own words, “We are spiritual Semites. If we forget our Jewish brothers and sisters, we forget who we are.” This talk traces his powerful legacy—marked by humility, justice, and friendship—and its urgent relevance for the Church today.

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As one of the bonus episodes for Beyond Rome, we are sharing conversations from our conference, Called to Friendship: Nostra Aetate at 60.

For many Catholics and Jews today, the idea of “interreligious dialogue” can feel abstract, irrelevant, or even suspect. And yet, at the heart of the Church’s renewed relationship with the Jewish people is something far deeper than diplomacy: a shared spiritual history, a wounded past, and a prophetic call to walk together in truth. This candid panel will tackle the real questions: Why should this friendship matter to Catholics today? Are Judaism and Catholicism actually related—or are they fundamentally separate faiths with little in common? What do we mean when we say “Judeo-Christian”? Can someone truly be a “Jewish Catholic”? How do we deal honestly with the difficult questions of mission, conversion, and reparation for past sins? And most importantly: what do Catholics and Jews need from each other now—not politically, but spiritually and culturally? Join us for a searching, unscripted conversation about how Catholics and Jews can move beyond mere dialogue toward a deeper, more demanding—and more hopeful—friendship.

Panelists: Yael Freimann, Kathryn Wolf, Rabbi Joshua Stanton, Peter Wolfgang, Simone Rizkallah
Moderator: Phil Dolitsky

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As one of the bonus episodes for Beyond Rome, we are sharing conversations from our conference, Called to Friendship: Nostra Aetate at 60.

This presentation explores the theological foundations of “minimalist Catholic Zionism”—a position grounded in fundamental Catholic doctrinal assertions about God’s covenant with the Jewish people. Built upon four essential building blocks, this framework maintains that the Jewish covenant is irrevocable, applies to Jews today, includes the promise of the land, and remains unannulled in the New Testament while being firmly rooted in Old Testament revelation. Rather than advocating for specific political policies, this minimalist approach focuses on irreducible theological truths that emerge from Catholic teaching about the permanence of God’s covenant relationships and the continuity of divine promises across salvation history. The talk examines how these doctrinal foundations provide a theological basis for Catholic support of Jewish connection to the Holy Land that transcends political considerations while remaining faithful to both Scripture and tradition, offering Catholics a way to engage with questions of Israel and the Jewish people that is rooted in theological conviction rather than political alignment.

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As one of the bonus episodes for Beyond Rome, we are sharing conversations from our conference, Called to Friendship: Nostra Aetate at 60.

This talk from Luma Simms explores the often-overlooked reality of how anti-Semitic attitudes are carried into the West through immigrant communities—both Muslim and Christian. Drawing on personal experience and a Catholic lens, Luma addresses the cultural and theological roots of anti-Semitism among Middle Eastern Christians and highlights how Western Christianity, particularly through the lens of Nostra Aetate, offers a path of reconciliation, renewal, and healing. This timely conversation invites a candid yet compassionate exploration of complex identities, inherited prejudices, and the Church’s unique role in confronting them.

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As one of the bonus episodes for Beyond Rome, we are sharing the opening keynote address from our conference, Called to Friendship: Nostra Aetate at 60.

Given by George Weigel, this keynote address illustrates Pope St. John Paul II as one of the greatest exemplars of Catholic-Jewish friendship and offers us ways to combat antisemitism today.

This opening keynote by George Weigel reflects on the profound spiritual dimensions of Catholic-Jewish relations through the lens of Pope John Paul II’s historic pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 2000, when the Polish Pope prayed at the Western Wall during the Great Jubilee of the Incarnation. As we mark this providential convergence of anniversaries—60 years since Nostra Aetate, 25 years since that historic pilgrimage, the election of a new Pope Leo committed to Catholic Social Teaching, and our current Jubilee of Hope—the keynote argues that Catholic support for Israel and the Jewish people must be understood primarily as a spiritual and theological imperative with profound political implications. Drawing parallels between John Paul II’s transformative invocation of the Holy Spirit in Warsaw on Pentecost 1979 and the theological foundations of Jewish-Catholic dialogue today, the address demonstrates how authentic spiritual commitments rooted in God’s irrevocable covenant and the Church’s examination of conscience can unleash world-changing consequences, challenging Catholics to ground their approach not in political calculation but in the deeper theological truths that continue the Pentecost moment when the Spirit moved the Apostles to proclaim the Gospel to all nations.

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In this episode, host Simone Rizkallah speaks with Father Thomas Joseph White, O.P., Rector of the Angelicum and contributor to the new book Catholic‑Jewish Engagements on Israel: Holy Land, Political Territory, or Theological Promise? They discuss his chapter, “The State of Israel and the Holy See: A Theological and Ethical Perspective,” which offers a Catholic case for support of the Jewish people and the State of Israel.

Fr. White draws on natural law principles to explore how Catholic moral theology affirms the rights of the Jewish people to political self-determination in their historic homeland. He explains how natural law provides a framework for understanding the legitimacy of the modern State of Israel while also addressing the ethical responsibilities Catholics have toward justice, peace, and the dignity of all peoples in the region.

Link to the book:

https://www.cuapress.org/9780813239743/catholic-jewish-engagements-on-israel/

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In this episode, I sit down with Sr. Maris Stella of the Sisters of Life to discuss the remarkable life and witness of Cardinal John O’Connor — a champion of life, a bridge-builder with the Jewish people, and a spiritual father who left a lasting mark on the Church in America. Spoiler: after his death, it was discovered that his mother was Jewish and his grandfather a rabbi!

While serving as a Naval Officer, Sister Maris Stella had a profound experience of God’s love in the Eucharist that opened her heart to religious life. She encountered the Sisters of Life and knew she was being called to lay down her life so that others might live and have eternal life. Sister Maris Stella has served in various missions including the formation of postulants, the Visitation Mission to women who are pregnant and vulnerable to abortion, the Hope and Healing Mission work of retreats and accompaniment for those suffering after abortion, and the Denver Mission of Evangelization. Sister Maris Stella is originally from Massachusetts and is the 2nd of 4 children. Upon graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis MD, she served in the Navy for 5 years. She entered the Sisters of Life in 2006 and professed her final vows in 2014. She holds a Master's degree in Theology from the Augustine Institute and has done extensive research and writing on the life of her congregation's founder, John Cardinal O’Connor. Sister Maris Stella currently serves as the Vicar General of the Sisters of Life.

Resources:

https://philosproject.org/catholic/nostraaetate60/

https://sistersoflife.org/who-we-are/who-we-are/

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