New Council of Christians and Jews in Peru

On June 27, 2011, at 18.00 hrs. in Lima, Peru, a meeting was held at the premises of the ‘ Asociación Judía de Beneficencia y Culto De 1870’. Those assembled decided to take the initiative to improve the Jewish-Christian relations in Peru. Following relevant suggestions, it was agreed to establish the ‘Confraternidad Judeo-Cristiana del Perú’ with the following aims:

a)                  To promote understanding and cooperation between the Jews and Christians based on respect for the identity and the integrity of the religious beliefs and practices of each other

b)                 To combat all forms of prejudice, intolerance and disrespect for religious reasons, in particular anti-Semitic and antichristian manifestations

c)                  To deal with the questions of human rights and human dignity which are profoundly rooted in Judaism and Christianity

d)                 To promote education and research of Jewish-Christian relations on all levels, including the universities and theological seminaries, in order to promote mutual understanding between youngsters, students, academics and religious leaders and

e)                 To participate in the International Council of Christians and Jews (ICCJ) and other international organizations for Jewish-Christian dialogue.

 

Elected by the twenty founding members, the first officers of the Peruvian Council of Christians and Jews for a two years term (2011-2013) will be: as Presidents, Rabbi Guillermo Bronstein of Lima, Msgr. William Godfrey, Anglican Bishop of Peru, and Msgr. Salvador Piñeiro, Second Vice President, Peruvian Catholic Episcopal Conference. As secretaries were appointed: Raquel Gago, Elías Szczytnicki and Laura Vargas.

It was decided to organize in the second half of 2011 a symposium to discuss the ICCJ Berlin document ‘A time for Recommitment’ and to invite mutually to celebrate together Chanukah and Christmas.

 

This new Peruvian CCJ replaces the former Inter-Confessional Committee of Peru and has sent to the ICCJ a request to transfer the Peruvian ICCJ membership to the new Council of Christians and Jews. No doubt the next Annual General Meeting of the ICCJ will be honored to do so. In the meantime ICCJ President Dr Debbie Weissman congratulated our Peruvian friends with establishing this Council of Christians and Jews, welcoming our Peruvian colleagues in the worldwide ICCJ family.