The spirit of ecumenism was manifested today in several Chanukah programs held in Catholic institutions in several parts of the country for Catholic adults and children.
In Chicago, an audience of Catholics and Jews watched as parishioners of the Queen of the Universe Church formed the traditional Menorah, each person holding a candle, The “Christianized” version was enacted so that members of the Catholic congregation “could try and get closer to our Jewish neighbors and friends,” said Rev; Stanley Ryzner, pastor. He added that the purpose was to “foster deeper understanding and greater respect for the Jewish faith in keeping with the ecumenical spirit.” Rabbi Gershon Rosenstock of the Lawn Manor Hebrew Congregation, served as commentator.
Another such program was a Chanukah candle-lighting event at the Ressurection Academy in Rye, N. Y., designed according to school officials, to show the relationship between the Old and New Testaments and a similarity of Jewish and Christian traditions. Three students lighted the candles of a Menorah candlebraum while a Sister stood by in the first program of its kind at the Catholic school.
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