On February 11-12, 2003, ADL and the Cardinal Joseph Bernardin Center at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago hosted more than 30 distinguished clergy and professors at an international conference on religious identity.

"Covenant and Religious Pluralism" focused on how Jews and Christians have viewed their own faith from the perspective of biblical literature, history and current times as each strives to better understand the faith tradition of the other.

"This conference was designed to provide a forum for Jews and Christians to discuss the challenges of faith commitment in a pluralistic society," said Rabbi Eugene Korn, ADL Director of Interfaith Affairs. "Traditionally, individual Jewish and Christian religious convictions have highlighted exclusiveness and led to hostility of those outside each respective faith."

The conference is part of a continued ADL effort to promote interfaith dialogue and understanding.

The Bernardin Center at Catholic Theological Union, the largest U.S. Catholic graduate school of theology, continues Cardinal Bernardin's signature issues of reconciliation and interreligious dialogue.