Rabbi Joseph Levi and Prof Gioietta Casella spoke boldly and eloquently on the theme of peace and pilgrimage in the context of episodes of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.
‘I always return with great pleasure to Loppiano to engage in dialogue. Every time I find trust and a listening ear’, began Rav Joseph Levi, former chief rabbi of the Jewish community of Florence and well-known throughout Italy. The occasion is the 36th edition of the Day for Dialogue between Catholics and Jews, promoted by the Italian Episcopal Conference, but which takes place in many parts of the world. The usual date is 17 January, before the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, but it was postponed to 6 February by the diocese of Fiesole, which chose Loppiano to hold the celebration. The title was particularly relevant – ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ – due to the tragic events of the war and is perfectly in tune with the theme of the Jubilee. The evening was introduced and moderated by Roberto Catalano, an expert in interreligious dialogue and professor at the Sophia University Institute, who pointed out ‘the resurgence of anti-Semitism and also Islamophobia’.
‘This meeting,’ begins Gioietta Casella, professor at the Theological Faculty of Central Italy in Florence, ’helps us to experience precious moments to get to know and appreciate each other and share joys and sorrows. In this way we learn to walk together in the experience of dialogue and to commit ourselves more and more to building the culture of dialogue‘. And she adds: “Pilgrims of hope means being pilgrims between the ‘already’ and the ‘not yet’. We can fall but not remain fallen. And it is possible if we are together. Our limitations are overcome by being united in fraternity’. Rabbi Levi asks himself: ‘What does the word pilgrimage evoke in the Jewish imagination? God leads the people towards a land that will bear fruit, towards Jerusalem, towards the Temple, bringing the first fruits in a celebratory encounter. Now we experience a tension between the ancient nostalgia of the Jewish world and living in an incomplete world, for which to commit oneself to realise the divine promises.’
Professor Casella continues: ‘Does it make sense to talk about hope? We cannot forget that hope is not an individual asset, but a people’s asset. That’s why we talk to each other.’ Rav Levi makes a proposal: ‘The dialogue between believers and people with no religious faith needs to be renewed in a serious and responsible way. We have to come to terms with the history of our religious and secular culture from the French Revolution to the present day.’ Finally, he appreciates the value of the evening: ‘Dialogue must be strengthened, also by increasing opportunities for meetings like this initiative. ’Prof. Catalano invited the Bishop of Fiesole, Monsignor Stefano Manetti, to say a few words in conclusion. ‘We are all pilgrims of hope, all of humanity. And tonight we have experienced that dialogue requires listening, the ability to listen. In the same way, the dialogue of a community on the move requires the ability to wait, the willingness to adapt to the pace of others. Tonight we have seen that the dialogue we have experienced is filled with hope.
