Longtime Vatican diplomat Cardinal Edward Idris Cassidy has died at age 96 in Newcastle, Australia on April 10th. Cassidy previously served as President of the Commission for the Religious Relations with the Jews and was a strong advocate in resuming dialogue between Catholics and Jews.
Cardinal Cassidy served as Apostolic nuncio in Ireland, El Salvador, Argentina, Taiwan, Bangladesh, South Africa, Burma, Lesotho, the Netherlands and India. Cardinal Cassidy was for many years the most senior Australian to have worked in the Vatican.
The World Jewish Congress mourned the passing of Cassidy, stating: "With Cardinal Cassidy, we worked together, sometimes in divergence, lived as a part of our relationship, but we never accepted that the difference could stop the dialogue of our communities. Cardinal Cassidy during his presidency asked many times to ‘look to a common future.’ His passing must inspire us to move his legacy forward to the next generations engaged in Jewish-Catholic dialogue.”
The funeral is expected to be held at St. Mary’s Cathedral but a date has not yet been set.