Regarding the Rev. Michael O'Connell's March 20 letter ("Latin mass and the Jews"), the Jewish community appreciates deeply the millions of Catholics who recognize the eternal covenantal relationship between Jews and God as illustrated by O'Connell's dedication to Jewish-Catholic relations. This dedication is poignantly reflected by the commissioning of the Basilica of St. Mary of the Holocaust Memorial Oratorio: To Be Certain of the Dawn. The oratorio itself is written in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi death camps and the 40th anniversary of Nostra Aetate ("In Our Times"), the document from the Second Vatican Council which condemned blaming the Jews for the death of Jesus.

Jewish tradition teaches that the longest journey begins with but a single step and happily the Catholic Church, locally and internationally, has moved forward a great distance in addressing its past relationship with Jews and Judaism making for a hopeful future -- which one step in a different direction cannot change.

STEVE HUNEGS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,

JEWISH COMMUNITY RELATIONS COUNCIL OF MINNESOTA AND THE DAKOTAS