The Bearing Witness™ Program is a unique professional development opportunity for Catholic school edu- cators.  In 1996, the ADL’s Washington, D.C. Regional Office partnered with the Archdiocese of Washing- ton, D.C. to create Bearing Witness,  in order to provide Catholic school educators with the training and resources necessary to teach their students about the historical relationship between Jews and the Catho- lic Church.  Bearing Witness traces the impact of that relationship on Catholic teaching, catechesis and liturgy and the reconciliation between the two communities that has followed. Bearing Witness is endorsed by the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. In 2000, Bearing Witness was one of 15 programs across the country to receive recognition by the NCEA as a SPICE program (Selected Programs for Improving Catholic Education). SPICE is a process that identifies, validates, and systematically disseminates elementary and secondary school programs so that teachers and administrators in other schools can adopt them.

 

Since its inception, Bearing Witness has trained over 1,400 Catholic school educators across the country, impacting over 195,000 students.

 

Through Bearing Witness, participants explore the history of anti-Semitism, from biblical times to modern day. Themes include:

 

 

·         Jews and Judaism in the New Testament

• Jewish traditions
• The history of anti-Semitism
• Guidelines and methodology for teaching the Holocaust
• The Churches and the Holocaust
• Christians and Jews in dialogue and reconciliation
• Anti-Semitism after the Holocaust
• The Jewish community today
• Anti-bias education
• Implementing the lessons of Bearing Witness

 

 

“The path to peace begins with understanding and appreciating the beliefs of others… It’s good to re- member that the church moves slowly, and we’re moving in the right direc- tion,” she added. “it takes time to change people’s minds, but I’m excited to be a part of the change.”

 

- Educator, 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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