Brennan Goldman Institute for Jewish-Catholic Understanding and Dialogue

The Brennan Goldman Institute for Jewish-Catholic Understanding and Dialogue was made possible by an anonymous gift in memory of the late Rev. Joseph Brennan, a priest of the Diocese of Rochester and Isobel Goldman, Community Relations Director for the Jewish Community Federation of Greater Rochester. Goldman and Brennan both spearheaded and guided the process of revisiting historic tensions related to Anti-Semitism in order to increase an understanding and cooperation between Jews and Catholics in the greater Rochester area.

 

The Institute, located at St. Bernard’s, is operated through the collaboration of the Diocese of Rochester, The Jewish Federation and St. Bernard’s Office of Continuing Education.The Brennan Goldman Institute, led by an advisory board of Jews and Catholics, clergy and lay persons, provides a home for the continuation of a dialogue that has taken place in the Rochester area since the historic 1996 agreement signed by leaders of both Catholic and Jewish faiths. The goal of the Brennan Goldman Institute is to foster sincere dialogue that promotes education and cultural awareness. As a result of the Institute’s work, Catholic high school students in the Rochester area and Jewish students in Israel have been engaged in a unique book-sharing project. In addition, over thirty Catholic School teachers have participated in a three day seminar for Holocaust Awareness. Brennan Goldman’s mission is to provide people of both faiths, young and old, with opportunities to build bridges of understanding and hope.

For more information, please contact Rev. George Heyman: gheyman@stbernards.edu or 585-271-3657 ext. 292.