The\u00a0University of Scranton will host Rabbi Abraham Skorka, Ph.D., a renowned scholar,\u00a0author\u00a0and longtime friend of Pope Francis, at the upcoming Judaic Studies Institute Lecture.<\/p>\n
Dr. Skorka will deliver his lecture, titled, \u201cThe Pope and the Rabbi: My Story of Friendship and Dialogue with Pope Francis,\u201d at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 12, at the Pearn Auditorium inside Brennan Hall. Dr. Skorka\u2019s presentation is open to the public and free to attend.<\/p>\n
Dr. Skorka\u00a0is the former rabbi of the\u00a0Benei\u00a0Tikva Congregation and Rector of the Seminario Rab\u00ednico Latinoamericano, both in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Like Pope Francis, Dr. Skorka was born in Buenos Aires.<\/p>\n
In addition to being fellow Argentinians and friends, Dr. Skorka and Pope Francis cowrote the 2013 book,\u00a0\u201cOn Heaven and Earth: Pope Francis on Faith, Family and the Church in the 21st Century.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAs soon as he was elected Pope, Francis called me on the phone and gave me the email address we could use to keep in touch with each other,\u201d Dr. Skorka wrote in a letter for Georgetown University, where is a senior research fellow for Jewish Studies and Jewish-Christian Relations. \u201cOur friendship began in the second half of the 1990s and has been characterized by mutual respect and sincere, direct dialogue ever since. Gradually, we revealed ourselves to one another, opening our hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n