WORLD MUST EMERGE FROM THE WEB OF CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE

VATICAN CITY, NOV 14, 2005 (VIS) - This morning, Benedict XVI received a group of representatives of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in the U.S.A., an institution founded in 1977 in order to preserve the memory of the Holocaust, while promoting tolerance and understanding through awareness-raising and education.

  After recalling that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the Vatican Council II Declaration "Nostra Aetate," which "formulated the principles that have guided the Church's efforts to promote better understanding between Jews and Catholics," the Pope said: "After a difficult and painful history, relations between our two communities are presently taking a new, more positive, direction."

  He went on: "We must continue to advance along the path of mutual respect and dialogue, inspired by our shared spiritual heritage and committed to an ever more effective cooperation in the service of the human family.

  "Christians and Jews can do much to enable coming generations to live in harmony and respect for the dignity with which every human being has been endowed by the Creator. I express the hope, shared by men and women of good will everywhere, that this century will see our world emerge from the web of conflict and violence, and sow the seeds for a future of reconciliation, justice and peace."
AC/JEWS:CHRISTIANS/WIESENTHAL                    VIS 20051114 (230)