Archbishop Robert J. Carlson and Dr. Lawrence J. Welch, the Director of the Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, met recently with Jewish community leaders at the Jewish Federation Building at a meeting facilitated by the Jewish Community Relations Council.

In a joint statement, the JCRC and the Archdiocese said, “The meeting, focusing on issues of mutual concern, provided an opportunity for the reaffirmation of the bonds of friendship and collaboration between the two faith communities.

“The assembled also reaffirmed the 2009 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Statement of Principles for Catholic-Jewish Dialogue, and the joint statement of the USCCB and the National Council of Synagogues (NCS) of America in the same year. These documents are available on the website of the Archdiocese www.archstl.org and of the JCRC www.jcrcstl.org.

“A jointly sponsored program coinciding with the 45th anniversary of Nostra Aetate and focusing on areas of mutual concern is being planned for early fall. A Declaration of the Second Vatican Council, Nostra Aetate marked a new beginning in Catholic-Jewish relations.”