Jewish organization gives funds to New Orleans church to rebuild

Published: 2006-01-13

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A Catholic parish in New Orleans, St. Clement of Rome, received $125,000 from the American Jewish Committee to rebuild its sanctuary after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Meanwhile, the Louisiana Chaplain's Association has established a fund to help rebuild the seminary in the New Orleans Archdiocese. David Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee, presented checks to the parish and also to three other institutions -- Dillard University; Congregation Gates of Prayer, a Reform synagogue; and Congregation Beth Israel, an Orthodox synagogue -- in late December. The organization gave a total of $575,000 in contributions from its Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund. In a letter published by The New York Times Jan.1, Harris wrote: "The hurricane was another reminder that whatever our religious or other differences we are one human family with a common destiny."

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