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Brother John G. Driscoll Professorship Examines 2000 Year Shared History

New Rochelle, New York, March 8, 2000 - Dr. Elena Procario-Foley, assistant professor of religious studies at Iona College in New Rochelle, NY , and the first Brother John G. Driscoll Professor in Jewish-Catholic Studies, is pleased to announce the spring 2000 program for the Driscoll Professorship. All listed events are free and open to the public. They take place on the Iona College campus at 715 North Avenue in New Rochelle.

The Brother John G. Driscoll Professorship, Iona's first endowed professorship, was established with a $1,000,000 gift from Jack H. '86 and Susan Rudin to study and celebrate the relationship between the Jewish and Catholic cultures and beliefs.

On Thursday, March 30 at 12 noon in Joyce Auditorium the Driscoll Professorship invites the community to begin the observance of Yom Ha'Shoah - Holocaust Remembrance Week. The keynote address, "Is God Still Our Father After Auschwitz," will be delivered by Rabbi Leon Klenicki, director, Department of Interfaith Affairs of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith.

Rabbi Klenicki co-authored with Rev. Richard John Neuhaus a volume of theological conversations, Believing Today: Jew and Christian in Conversation, and with Father Peter Stravinskas, A Catholic-Jewish Encounter, discussing Jesus, liturgy, family life and matters related to the Catholic-Jewish dialogue.

On the evening of March 30 at 8:00 pm in Spellman Lounge, Dr. David Elcott, author, lecturer, consultant and former vice president of CLAL, the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, and the Reverend James F. Loughran, SA, director of the Commission on Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs, Archdiocese of New York, will begin the first in a series of dialogues that explore shared roots and divergent paths required to build mutual understanding. Entitled "Encountering the Past, Engaging the Present, Envisioning the Future: Jews and Catholics in Dialogue," the speakers will present perspectives on biblical jubilee texts that mark the beginning of a multi-year collaboration between the Driscoll Professorship and the American Jewish Committee, Westchester Chapter. The Driscoll Professorship invites Catholic and Jewish participation from area schools, parishes and congregations.

On Tuesday, April 11 at 11:00 am in Joyce Auditorium, Rabbi A. James Rudin, an internationally recognized expert in Jewish-Catholic relations, and the national director of inter-religious affairs for the American Jewish Committee, will officially inaugurate Iona's program in Jewish-Catholic Studies, delivering the First Annual Driscoll Lecture. Anyone with questions about the programs of the Brother Driscoll Professorship can call Dr. Procario-Foley at (914) 637-2744 for more information.

Activities directed by the Driscoll Professor include the coordination of an annual lecture series that will bring nationally recognized experts on Jewish-Catholic Studies covering history, theology, culture and current events, to speak at Iona College; creation of outreach activities to diverse constituencies; production of a periodic publication incorporating scholarship and commentary on Jewish-Catholic relations; and production and maintenance of an Iona College Internet web site about Jewish-Catholic Studies. In addition, the Driscoll Professor collaborates with Iona's Center for Campus Ministries in sponsoring its annual Yom Ha'Shoah commemoration and will assist in hosting the bi-annual interfaith Seder, sponsored by the Coalition for Mutual Respect of New Rochelle.

Dr. Procario-Foley earned a BA in Theology and Philosophy from Fordham University, an MA in Divinity and a PhD in Theology from the University of Chicago.

Brother Driscoll, who is President Emeritus, served as the sixth president of Iona College, from 1971 to 1995, and he continues to serve the school as a member of the Board of Trustees. An Iona alumnus, he is currently a Scholar-in-Residence at Hebrew University in Israel. Brother Driscoll received a summa cum laude undergraduate degree in Physics and recently celebrated his Golden Jubilee as a member of the Congregation of Christian Brothers.

Iona College, founded by the Christian Brothers in 1940, is a private, co-educational institution of learning in the tradition of American Catholic higher education.

For questions or more information please contact:
Meghan Finn
Public Relations Office
Iona College, 715 North Avenue, New Rochelle, N.Y. 10801
tel: 914 633-2005 fax: 914 637-2711

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