>The seven Roman Catholic bishops of The Netherlands, who presented such a progressive front at the Second Vatican Council, have suffered another breach in their ranks. A year ago Pope Paul introduced the first new conservative into the Dutch hierarchy by appointing Adrianus Simonis to the see of Rotterdam, ignoring the nominations of the diocesan chapter (TIME, Jan. 18, 1971). Now he has named Johannes Mathias Gijsen, 39, a friend of Simonis and heretofore the rector of an old-age home in a tiny village, to the southern Netherlands diocese of Roermond. As with the Simonis appointment, critics noted, the Pope overlooked the recommendations of the chapter. Paul is known to feel that many Dutch priests are more progressive than the laity, and that there is a large body of conservatives who should be represented in the hierarchy.
> For the first time in modern history, Greek Orthodox and Jewish scholars met last week in Manhattan to launch an ecumenical dialogue. Sponsored by the American Jewish Committee and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America, the informal talks produced, according to Father Robert Stephanopoulos, "a real sense of affinity we cannot always feel with Western Christians." Rabbi Marc Tanenbaum, who originally suggested the dialogues, cited the two groups' common religious-ethnic heritage and Mediterranean background. Indeed, said Tanenbaum, though Greek and Hebrew philosophies are often regarded as opposites, rabbinic Judaism was actually a "creative synthesis" that absorbed some thought patterns and institutions of Hellenism.