Pave The Way Foundation - Work

Work

In September 2000, in recognition of his sale of medical equipment, at substantial savings to Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza Hospital in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, Italy, Gary Krupp was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great by Pope John Paul II, only the seventh Jew to be so honored. Mr. Krupp also assisted the Hospital in 2006 by a sale of MRI equipment to the hospital by General Electric.

Receiving the honor from the Pope inspired Krupp, a developer of medical facilities from Long Beach (NY), to follow the example of his fellow Jewish Knight Commanders in dedicating himself to the work of reconciliation between the Catholic and Jewish religions, In 2003 he founded the Pave the Way Foundation.

The foundation promotes the philosophy, "Embrace the Similarities - Savor the Differences," through Catholic-Jewish cultural exchanges, talks, pilgrimages and youth projects. PTWF has developed a Palestinian-Israeli Prosperity Plan that is designed to help provide meaningful jobs and thereby reduce one of the fundamental factors that contributes to hostilities and violence. In an effort to bring people closer together, it has coordinated the purchase of baby formula and diapers by Americans for impoverished families in the Holy Land, but the purchases are made by and for people of different faiths (e.g., Jewish Americans buying for Palestinians). Similarly, PTWF has provided blankets to Holocaust survivors in Jerusalem. PTWF also developed a manual of etiquette to help to train Israeli security personnel in response to Christian criticisms.

PTWF has commended Islamic clerics who condemn violence in the name of their religion, explaining that such statements are important “in bringing an end to the chain of violent events that now endanger every human being on the planet.” PTWF also calls upon all world religions to speak out against violence and deaths perpetrated in the name of their religion and shun any persons who pervert the name of their religion to support violent and destructive goals.

The Foundation also works to foster a strong partnership between the Vatican and the State of Israel. Krupp has lobbied the Israeli government to address the concerns of the Vatican on matters including the legal status of Catholic entities in Israel, issue of visa for Church employees and access of pilgrims to major shrines.

The Foundation's accomplishments include initiating the largest Jewish audience in history to meet with a sitting Pope. On January 18, 2005 168 Jewish leaders met with Pope John Paul II. It initiated the first ever loan of the manuscripts of Maimonides from the Vatican Library to the State of Israel in September 2005. It identified the availability and a donor to acquire the Bodmer papyrus for the Vatican Library January 18, 2007.

It arranged the digitizing of the manuscripts of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land for permanent archiving and protection. It negotiated the acquisition of high tech medical equipment for Casa Sollievo Della Sofferenza the hospital of St. Padre Pio in Italy. It sponsored the exhibit “Pope John Paul II and the Jewish People - A Blessing to one another in New York." It is also working to help bring peace to the Middle East promoting the Wasatia Forum with Palestinian children.

Krupp and the Foundation have played a role in diplomatic/political mediation between the Vatican and the State of Israel. When Israeli representatives withdrew from negotiations between the Catholic Church and Israel over proposed legislation relating to the Fundamental Agreement of 1993, Krupp acted as lead mediator between the two sides. Pave the Way lobbied Israeli diplomats, Jewish philanthropic organizations, Jewish congress-members and influential Jewish leaders to contact the Israeli Prime Minister's office and emphasize the importance of cementing the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Israeli state. The Israelis resumed negotiations.

Another instance where the Foundation's intervention in Church-Israeli State affairs was important was after the election of a new Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilus III. The newly-elected Patriarch was unable to discharge his duties when the Israel Government delayed recognition, Pave the Way Foundation, acting "in the interest of inter-religious harmony and positive, improved relations," made representations to the Prime Minister of Israel and the King of Jordan, urging them to give the problem their attention. Theophilus III acknowledged the role of Krupp's intervention in helping move the Patriarchate's affairs forward.

Pave the Way's 2008 Internal Revenue Service reports state that Krupp and his wife were the organization's only two employees, with Gary Krupp earning $112,500, and his wife $35,000. Pave the Way is largely funded by around twenty members of the board of directors. During 2008 income amounted to $470,000. Travel was the second highest expenditure after the wages paid to the Krupp's."