«In Our Time," that is, within the last fifty years, the world has witnessed the greatest improvements in Catholic-Jewish relations since the death of Jesus of Nazareth. Many courageous people contributed to this improvement. Catholics and Jews have embarked on a historic engagement with one another.
But one event, one stroke of a pen, on October 28, 1965, made all of this possible. This modest book tells this momentous tale….
James M. Barrens is the former Executive Director of the Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies at Saint Leo University in Saint Leo, Florida. He is also the former Lead Organizer of Congregations United for Community Action, a St. Petersburg, Florida social justice organization comprised of thirty-seven diverse religious congregations, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Quaker, Unitarian-Universalist, Bahia, and others. Mr. Barrens, who is Roman Catholic, has been recognized by local and national media for having a unique and accessible yet scholarly perspective on Catholic-Jewish relations, as well as interfaith relations in general. He completed his undergraduate studies in Sociology at The American University in Washington, D.C., and his graduate studies in Theology at Saint Leo University. And, oh yes, his wife, Ruth, is Jewish.
