Ratisbonne Institute to be moved to Rome
The Ratisbonne Institute, a Catholic center for Jewish Studies in Jerusalem whose academic activities were suspended in 2001 for a two-year period, will not reopen in Jerusalem but will be moved to Rome, according to a recent story in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano. The Institute will become a part of the Pontifical Gregorian University. Founded by the Religious of Notre Dame de Sion, the Institute has offered courses taught in both French and English on classic Jewish texts, liturgies, and practices, as well as instruction in Hebrew and an orientation to the State of Israel. Concerns have been expressed about whether the Institute's mission of introducing Christians to the living reality of Judaism can be carried out as effectively in a situation removed from a Jewish context. Financial considerations as well as concerns about academic quality were cited as reasons for the move.
F.S.