Pope Francis congratulated Rabbi Skorka on receipt of honorary doctorate of the Catholic University of Lublin

Pope Francis congratulated Rabbi Prof. Abraham Skorka on his honorary doctorate from the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin. "We are truly two close friends" - emphasised the rabbi.

Prof. Skorka received the title during Sunday's formal inauguration of the academic year at the Catholic University of Lublin.

"When I wrote to him that I was going to Poland to receive an honorary doctorate from the Catholic University of Lublin, he replied very quickly. (...) We are really two close friends, brothers, and we address each other in e-mails as 'Dear Brother'. When I told him about this ceremony and the award from the Catholic University of Lublin, he congratulated me on it" - Rabbi Skorka told the academic media of the Catholic University of Lublin.

He added that he had received a photo from Francis' secretary with the Pope's handwritten message. "It was a simple message without following protocol" - he emphasised.

During his speech during the inauguration of the academic year at the Catholic University of Lublin, Rabbi Skorka pointed out that Poland was the country where his ancestors had lived for generations. "Their culture was my spiritual nourishment"  - said the new honorary doctoris causa of the Catholic University of Lublin. Recalling his meetings with Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, the current Pope Francis, the rabbi stressed that "a true turning point in relations between Jews and Catholics requires much more than mere meetings, but observation based on moral greatness and spiritual courage".

-Rabbi Prof. Abraham Skorka is an example of a man who is capable of interreligious dialogue through a search for common foundations - noted Rector of the Catholic University of Lublin, Fr. Prof. Mirosław Kalinowski, at the opening of the ceremony. He emphasised that the ceremony of awarding an honorary doctorate to a rabbi whose commitment to Jewish-Christian dialogue is highly valued by Pope Francis is "a symbolic crowning of the relevant activities that the University has pursued for years and will continue to pursue".