Kaddish recited for Cardinal Lustiger

Kaddish was recited at the funeral of the Jewish-born Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger. who converted to Catholicism as a teenager and rose to become Archbishop of Paris.

The cardinal was laid to rest Friday, Aug. 10 in Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral. The service began with the recitation of Kaddish, the mourner’s prayer, for Lustiger, who despite his conversion always considered himself a Jew. A relative also sprinkled dirt from Israel on his coffin. Kaddish was recited by Arno Lustiger, the cardinal’s 83-year-old cousin and a survivor of Auschwitz.

“This was his wish, to share the remembrance this way,” Arno Lustiger said. Leaders of the French Jewish community attended the ceremony outside the cathedral and then entered for a funeral mass led by the current archbishop, Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois. Richard Prasquier, the president of the French Jewish community, was present, but leading religious leaders did not attend.

“No one from the religious hierarchy was present,” said a spokesman for CRIF, the umbrella group of French Jewry. “Many rabbis are in Israel, and it is a sensitive issue, paying tribute to a Jew who converted to Catholicism and became a cardinal.” — jta

WJC appoints new exec

Michael Schneider is expected to take the reins of the World Jewish Congress.

The former executive vice president of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, is expected to take up his post as secretary general next month after formal approval by the organization. Schneider’s appointment comes after Daniel Mariaschin, the head of B’nai Brith International, turned down an offer for the secretary general job.

Schneider will take over an organization beset by years of infighting and allegations of financial mismanagement. — jta

Ukraine cemetery vandals sentenced

A Ukraine court has sentenced three Odessa men to two-year prison terms for vandalizing a Jewish cemetery.

The Malinovsky District Court of Odessa handed down the sentences Friday, Aug. 10, the UNIAN news service reported. A 20-year-old college student inspired by neo-Nazi literature and two of his friends were found guilty of painting swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans on 302 gravestones and a Holocaust memorial. — jta