Reflecting on his tenure as the archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said it would be “difficult” to serve in his former position without the friendship of Jewish people, noting that Jews are a “respected part of the fabric” of New York City. 

At the American Jewish Committee’s Manhattan headquarters on Tuesday, Dolan spoke alongside Rabbi Noam Marans, the organization’s director of interreligious affairs. The conversation took place as the AJC honored Dolan with the Nostra Aetate at Sixty Award for his work combating antisemitism and improving Catholic-Jewish relations.

Nostra Aetate (“In Our Time”), a declaration published in 1965 by the Roman Catholic Church, signified a turning point in the church’s teachings and relations with Judaism. It denounced antisemitism and rejected the notion that Jews were collectively responsible for the death of Jesus. 

Although the document marked a pivotal change in Catholic-Jewish relations, a 2024 study of American Christians’ attitudes towards Jews and Israel found that among the three surveyed groups — evangelicals, mainline Protestants and Catholics — Catholics were the least supportive of Jewish interests and causes and exhibited the highest support for antisemitic tropes. 

Dolan, who served as archbishop of New York from 2009 to 2025 and is currently co-chief chaplain for the New York Police Department, said improving relations between the two religions has been a personal mission throughout his career. Dolan also served as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2010 to 2013.

“Even if I were an agnostic, I would like to think I would be nauseated by the antisemitism we see going on in the world, in our own country and our own city,” said Dolan. “From a human point of view, even if I were not a man of faith, I would like to think I would simply say, ‘this ain’t right.’” 

From a religious standpoint, Dolan said he was “so proud” of Nostra Aetate, highlighting that “Jewish-Catholic friendship” is only 60 years old. 

Marans said that although Dolan’s history as an advocate for the Jewish people is well established, his solidarity in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel was particularly notable. The cardinal had been in Rome at the time of the attacks, and when he returned to New York City, he visited local synagogues, met with hostage families and survivors and facilitated a financial contribution from the New York Archdiocese to rebuild a home destroyed by Hamas.

“Cardinal Dolan has never hesitated to extend a hand of friendship to the Jewish community,” said Marans. “In a time when antisemitic incidents have spiked, he has always spoken out and showed up.”

“As much as anyone, Cardinal Dolan knows the scourge of antisemitism is a problem we all have to solve, not just Jews.”   

Several New York Jewish and Catholic leaders attended the award ceremony, including Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis; Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, executive director emeritus of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York; and Father Ryan Muldoon, director of the Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the Archdiocese of New York. 

Catholic-Jewish dialogue is “very precious” and must continue, Pope Leo XIV said at an audience with leaders of other religions on Monday, according to Italian news wire ANSA.

“Because of the Jewish roots of Christianity, all Christians have a special relationship with Judaism,” the pope said. “Theological dialogue between Christians and Jews remains always important and is very close to my heart.” 

A day after his inauguration ceremony in the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV spoke positively of Nostra Aetate, an official declaration made in 1965 that instituted a less adversarial approach by the church to Judaism.

That document, he said, “underlines the greatness of the spiritual heritage common to Christians and Jews, encouraging mutual knowledge and esteem.” 

In that context, the new pope spoke of “difficult times, marked by conflicts and misunderstandings.” He was apparently referring to the war in Gaza and his predecessor’s focus on Palestinian suffering and repeated condemnations of Israeli actions, which raised concerns among Jews in Italy and beyond.

Still, he said, “it is necessary to continue with enthusiasm this very precious dialogue of ours.” 

Chief Rabbi of Rome Riccardo Di Segni and the American Jewish Committee’s Director of Interreligious Affairs Rabbi Noam Marans, among other Jewish leaders, attended the meeting with the pope.

Marans gave Pope Leo XIV, who is from Chicago, a White Sox hat, which elicited a big smile, according to an AJC spokesperson. The rabbi also gave the pope a copy of the AJC’s Translate Hate: The Catholic Edition, a book about antisemitism.

Pope Leo XIV’s statements come 10 days after he sent a letter to Marans, director of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee, saying that he “pledge[s] to continue and strengthen the church’s dialogue and cooperation with the Jewish people in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration Nostra Aetate.” 

Prominent Jewish Italian journalist Maurizio Molinari told Jewish Insider last week that “the key is the reference to Nostra Aetate. He understands that the very base of the dialogue with the Jews was put at risk.”