Pope gives blessing to collaboration between World ORT and Vatican
Jewish and Christian educational groups receive backing from the Catholic leader for an interfaith initiative during a meeting in Rome
An international Jewish educational organisation has teamed up with a Catholic organisation set up by Pope Francis along similar lines.
World ORT, whose current president is Argentinian, shook hands on an agreement with Scholas Ocurrentes, set up in Argentina in 2001, when Francis was a local Archbishop.
At the Vatican, the popular pontiff last week gave his blessing to the two groups’ plans to roll out a huge interfaith educational event in October next year, involving hundreds of children.
Both organisations have similar aims, with World ORT promoting scientific-technological education as a mean of social mobility and Scholas linking technology, art and sports to promote social integration.
Organisers said next year’s meeting in Buenos Aires would be an “ideal context for engaging in a unique and multicultural and interreligious dialogue, with the aim of learning to respect the other, and committing to act for the greater good”.
Darío Werthein, Chairman of the Board of World ORT, “World ORT and Scholas share a common goal that is to make the world a better place through education. This collaboration will allow us to reach more places and for each and every one of the children to develop their potential, no matter where they come from”. Werthein said Also, World ORT is an organization that was a pioneer in joining the Schola’s network.
World ORT chief executive Avi Ganon agreed that the two organisations share a common goal in improving the world the education. He said: “We see in this cooperation an important tool to promote tolerance worldwide. As the centre of the spiritual world, the state of Israel can become a fruitful meeting place for different religions, and the World ORT schools can portray an example for establishing an equal and respectful dialogue between different peoples.”
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