On October 23 the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education’s (NCCHE) presented the Nostra Aetate Award to Eugene Fisher. This prestigious award was given in recognition of Fisher’s renowned work towards the goal of bettering the relations between those of the Catholic and Jewish faiths.
Nostra Aetate means “in our time” and is a reference to the Vatican Council II’s documents, “Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions.” These papers concern the Catholic Church’s relationship with non-Christian religions. The award was created by the NCCHE in 1991 for recipients who have sought to foster awareness concerning religious values in society.
By Maddie Gillespie
Layout Editor
On October 23 the National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education’s (NCCHE) presented the Nostra Aetate Award to Eugene Fisher. This prestigious award was given in recognition of Fisher’s renowned work towards the goal of bettering the relations between those of the Catholic and Jewish faiths.
Nostra Aetate means “in our time” and is a reference to the Vatican Council II’s documents, “Declaration on the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions.” These papers concern the Catholic Church’s relationship with non-Christian religions. The award was created by the NCCHE in 1991 for recipients who have sought to foster awareness concerning religious values in society.
For the last 30 years, Fisher has been able to directly influence two generations of Catholics toward improving old stereotypes and stigma regarding the Jewish people. He has furthered this goal by lecturing throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Latin America, as well as publishing 20 individual books and monographs. Fisher has also written over 250 articles that have been printed in major religious journals.
These articles have gone on to be translated into French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Polish and German in order for greater publication in Latin America and Europe. He has also devoted much of his time to interfaith educational programs with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
Gemma Del Duca, the co-founder and co-director of the NCCHE, presented the award to Fisher. “For three decades he literally labored, labored with love,” said Del Duca when introducing Fisher’s several hard earned works.
Fisher’s main point within his speech was that through dialogue and open communication, prejudices can be broken down to make way for new friendships. His impassioned demeanor and knowledge of history enabled the audience to grasp the grave importance of his chosen vocation while his humor let people know that hope for the future was far from dismal.
“I used to call my job the ‘Crisis of the Month Club.’ I’d come into work and ask, ‘What’s the crisis today?’” said Fisher when telling of his earlier working days.
Tiffany Tice, a sophomore, said, “The dialogue was refreshing because the audience members were actually given the opportunity to participate in the awards ceremony.”
“It was very insightful and a good event. I learned a few more details than I’d known before,” said Tice. Fisher emphasized this year’s significance with it being the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht in addition to the 60th anniversary of Israel as a country.
When speaking on the horrors of the Holocaust, Fisher gave his heartfelt belief that Christians in the future must not stand by and allow such an event to happen again. Both Christians and Jews need to foster a friendship in order to cease anti-semitism.
“It’s (the Holocaust) not a sidebar of European history…Europeans need to confront this aspect [of racism],” said Fisher. He plans to continue his work in informing generations about the importance of the past and reconciliation.