It was reported recently that the desecration of a Montreal-area synagogue was “one of the worst such incidents to take place in Canada in years.” Next to the direct attack on human beings, the destruction of what they hold sacred is reprehensible to the greatest degree!

At the biennial meeting in May 2001 of the Holy See’s Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews and The International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations, the joint statement on sacred sites issued at that time should be circulated again.

Already in the 1950s, Montreal was the place were positive Catholic-Jewish relations were initiated by Sister Marie Noelle de Baillehache of the Sisters of Sion. In the spirit of collaboration and learning over the decades, we are assured that efforts to defend the synagogues of Montreal and other cities will be complemented by a renewed concern for the education of the younger generation.  May the blessings of peace be shared by all people of good will there and everywhere!