JPII Initiated 'Day of Judaism' for Poland

Poles mark ‘Day of Judaism’

Poles held joint prayer services and workshops on religion’s cultural influence as part of an annual Day of Judaism.

Wednesday was the 10th annual Day of Judaism in Gdansk, overseen by the Polish Catholic Church.

This year, delegates from the Church and the Jewish community in Poland also discussed whether science and religion must necessarily conflict.

Stanislaw Krajewski, the American Jewish Committee’s representative in Warsaw and author of several books on Jewish-Polish relations, told Polish Radio, “This is a significant event by itself because it is perhaps the only national day which is supposed to be observed by all churches all over the country devoted to Judaism.

"I think it shows two things: The universal dimension of the importance of Jews and Jewish religion for the Church, for Christianity in general; and the specific Polish dimension, the importance of Jews in the history of Poland.”

The Day of Judaism was initiated by Polish-born Pope John Paul II.

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