CRIF President Richard Prasquier was determined to create this Commission. He is convinced of the need for a political rapprochement between Jews and Catholics, (the theological aspects are not part of CRIF's vocation).
Prasquier, the former President of Yad Vashem-France, referred to France as a model in Jewish-Catholic relations, the result of tireless work started in 1948 by the French association Amitié judéo-chrétienne, (friendship between Jews and Christians).
The Commission drew up a rich programme of topics based on previous work, which will include the difficulties encountered, false antagonisms, mutual comprehension, the Shoah, the State of Israel, and lastly, political action.
Haïm Musicant, Director General of CRIF, has always believed and participated in dialogue between Jews and Catholics, an essential vector of the reconciliation between Jews and Christians. By his presence at the launch meeting of the Commission for relations with the Roman Catholic Church, he is affirming CRIF's determination to follow in the footsteps of the founding fathers of Jewish-Catholic relations in France, from Jules Isaac to Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger.
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