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Yad, Rabbi Joel Meier explained to an audience of Jewish and Catholic leaders, “means ‘hand’ in Hebrew.” By extension it refers to a pointer lectors use as they read the Torah before a congregation. The occasion for his remark on Nov. 19 was the conclusion of the semi-annual meeting of the National Council of Synagogues, an association of Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist Jewish leaders, with the Bishops’ Committee for Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs. The rabbi was presenting a “yad” to Cardinal William H. Keeler in gratitude for 20 years of leadership in Catholic-Jewish relations.

It was a quiet, low-key transition, suited to the man it honored. For Cardinal Keeler, the archbishop emeritus of Baltimore, is a soft-spoken, modest gentleman, whose plain words are carefully chosen. It would be easy to mistake him for just another Catholic prelate. But when the history of the Catholic Church in the late 20th century is written, his achievements will stand above those of many. More than anyone else, he has been responsible for the progress of the U.S. church in ecumenical and interfaith affairs, and above all for unique advances in Catholic-Jewish relations that made this special relationship a model for the world.

With calm determination, he has fostered those relations, earning the respect and affection of the Jewish community. Whether the climate was stormy or sunny, he was tireless in meeting with local Jewish groups around the country. With sureness of purpose, he worked with American Jewish leaders through crises, like the controversy over the Carmelite convent at Auschwitz in the mid-90s. When Jewish defense groups complained about Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah’s defense of Palestinian rights, he would calmly urge them to meet the patriarch in person; and when Patriarch Sabbah planned visits to the United States, the cardinal would quietly offer to arrange meetings for him with his Jewish friends.

In 1983 Cardinal Keeler became chairman of the Bishops’ Committee on This article appears in December 10 2007.

Drew Christiansen, S.J., served as the editor in chief of America from 2005 to 2012. He was a Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Human Development at Georgetown University and a senior fellow with the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs. He was co-editor with Carole Sargent of A World Free from Nuclear Weapons: The Vatican Conference on Disarmament (Georgetown, 2020).