Pope Appoints Fisher Consultor to Vatican Commission on Jud Aism

Pope John Paul II has appointed Dr. Eugene Fisher, executive director of the Office of Catholic-Jewish Relations of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB), as a consultor to the Vatican Commission for Religious Relations with Judaism.

Fisher, 37, is the first NCCB staff member and the first Catholic layperson from the United States appointed a consultor to the Commission. The only other American among 10 churchmen and theologians from throughout the world who serve the Commission in this capacity is Bishop Bernard Law of Springield-Cape Girardeau, Mo.

“This appointment by the Pope is a recognition of the creativity and vitality of the Catholic-Jewish dialogue in the United States, which has been enhanced by the scholarship and personal qualities which Dr. Fisher has demonstrated,” commented Bishop Thomas Kelly, NCCB General Secretary.

The Vatican Commission for Religious Relations with Judaism was established in 1974 by Pope Paul VI. It is under the jurisdiction of the Vatican Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity headed by Johannes Cardinal Willebrands. Fisher has been an observer at past meetings of the Commission, and was a member of the Catholic delegation to the meeting of the International Liaison Committee between the Roman Catholic Church and Judaism which was held in London early this month.

Fisher, who earned a doctorate in Hebrew culture at New York University, was named to head the office for Catholic-Jewish relations, which is part of the NCCB Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, in 1977. He is the author of “Faith Without Prejudice,” 1977, and the co-editor with Rabbi Daniel Polish of “Formation of Social Policy in the Catholic and Jewish Traditions,” which was published last year. That book evolved from a meeting held at the University of Notre Dome under the sponsorship of the NCCB Secretariat and the Synagogue Council of America.