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August 13, 1999/1 Elul 5759, Vol. 51, No.45
AJC honors local Catholic bishop as 'humanitarian'
TAMI BICKLEY
Staff Writer
The American Jewish Committee has chosen the Most Rev. Thomas J. O'Brien, bishop of the Catholic Diocese in Phoenix, as this year's recipient of its Institute of Human Relations Award.
"I (am) quite surprised and shocked," O'Brien told Jewish News. "I don't feel I have done anything that extraordinary (to deserve the honor), but I am very pleased and thankful. ... For the Jewish community to reach out to me, as a bishop of the Catholic faith, says a lot about them in a positive way."
The AJC's local board annually chooses an individual to receive the award. Recipients are "outstanding citizens" and "humanitarians," according to Stanley Levine, AJC's Phoenix chapter president.
Some of O'Brien's endeavors in recent years have impacted the Jewish community specifically. He frequently works closely with the AJC, noted AJC Area Director Rabbi Robert Kravitz. On "a semi-regular basis until this year," Kravitz and O'Brien helped organize meetings between the Greater Phoenix Board of Rabbis and local priests, Kravitz said.
"I found that to be something that was particularly interesting and promoted friendships and relationships between the two faiths," noted O'Brien.
In addition, O'Brien and the diocese have focused attention on children and education issues, and recently adopted the AJC's "Building Harmony - No Hate" program to be used in 40 local Catholic schools. The program, used in kindergarten through third grade classes, encourages children to welcome religious and racial diversity and to discuss conflict resolution.
"In our society today, we have to find more opportunities to discover common ground around values and morals and deal together with injustices, prejudice and bigotry, which still exist," said O'Brien.
O'Brien was appointed as third bishop of Phoenix by Pope John Paul II in 1981, following the death of Bishop James Rausch. O'Brien attended St. Meinrad Seminary College and School of Theology in Indiana. He was ordained in 1961 and took on a position as associate pastor at Immaculate Conception parish in Douglas, Ariz. He went on to work as a priest at several churches in Phoenix. Highlights of his time as bishop have included Phoenix visits by Pope John Paul II in 1987 and Mother Teresa in 1989.
"The (AJC) is absolutely delighted that (O'Brien) is willing to accept our award," Kravitz said. "He's a fixture in this community and a very quiet dynamo."
O'Brien will officially receive the award at a tribute dinner Oct. 14 at the Radisson Resort in Scottsdale.
Prominent past recipients of the award have included former Gov. Bruce Babbitt (now U.S. secretary of the interior); and the owner of the Phoenix Suns and the Arizona Diamondbacks, Jerry Colangelo. Reginald Ballantyne, president of Phoenix Memorial Hospital, received the award last year.
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