Holocaust Remembered at Annual Gathering

“Hour of Remembrance” – an interreligious service

Remembering those who suffered and those who died in the Holocaust is not enough. Unless people start to take the threat that another Holocaust is possible then it could become a reality again.

This was the powerful theme of the annual Yom Hashoah – An Hour of Remembrance, an interreligious service April 25 at Epiphany Cathedral Parish which included more than 550 people.

Keynote speaker Father Dennis McManus, who was recently appointed theologian to Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York, Moderator of Jewish Affairs for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and who has been involved in interreligious dialogue for more than 35 years, sounded a warning that unless people start thinking of the Holocaust as something that was not an isolated time in world history then it will prevent people from seeing the real danger of the Holocaust happening again.

“We have to think of this is the terms of the past and the future and only then we will become enlightened,” Father McManus said. “It is not an option of Christians to ignore this. We must stand up because the danger of the unresolved nature of man means that it could be repeated.”

The Hour of Remembrance began with Cardinal Mooney High School students carrying forward signs with names such as: Auschwitz-Birkenau, Belzec, Bergen-Belsen, Buchenwald, Chemlo, Dachau, Dora-Mittelbau, Mauthausen, Ravensbruck, Sobibor, Terenzin, Treblinka and Westerbork.

They are names of Nazi Concentration Camps where six million Jews and seven million others were systematically killed during the Holocaust.

People of all faiths participated in the service in which 13 candles were lit in memory of the millions who perished during the Holocaust. This annual celebration is used to reflect on the past and encourage everyone to stand up and say: “Never again!”

Bishop Frank J. Dewane said the service is “the Diocese of Venice’s humble contribution to ensuring that a Holocaust can never happen again.”

Father McManus had the more than 20 Holocaust survivors in attendance stand as living witnesses of the atrocities but it is up to younger generations to be the new witnesses so that no one ever forgets what happened.

“We must learn to extend the hand of friendship of God to our Jewish friends as the salvation of everyone remains attached to God’s most chosen people.”

Diocese of Venice Director of Education Dr. Kathleen Schwartz also spoke of how the Diocesan schools have embraced their education regarding the Holocaust.

Schools within the Diocese of Venice learn about the Holocaust not just from text books, documentaries or movies but from actual survivors, Schwartz said. “It is important for them to know the truth.”

Cardinal Mooney students were commissioned by Bishop Dewane to carry on the lessons they have learned about the Holocaust for the future. They were then blessed and given pins of remembrance.

The Epiphany Cathedral Children’s Choir participated in the ceremony with the song: “Shalom Haverim.” The hour conclude on a positive note with everyone singing: “Let there be Peace of Earth.”

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