Vatican
City, 24 October 2013 (VIS) – This morning Pope Francis received a
delegation from the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, an international Jewish
organisation for the defence of human rights, and praised its work in
fighting “every form of racism, intolerance and anti-Semitism,
preserving the memory of the Shoah and promoting mutual understanding
through education and social action”.
The
encounter with the Simon Wiesenthal Centre had been arranged with
Pope Benedict XVI and the Holy Father emphasised that the Pope
emeritus is always in “our affectionate thoughts and prayers”.
“I
have repeated many times, in recent weeks, the Church's condemnation
of any form of anti-Semitism. Today I would like to underline that
the problem of intolerance must be faced in its entirety: when any
minority is persecuted and marginalised on account of its religious
beliefs or ethnic origin, the good of society as a whole is placed in
danger, and we must all consider ourselves affected. I think with
particular sadness of the suffering, marginalisation and real
persecution experienced by many Christians in various countries
throughout the world. Let us unite our strengths to promote a culture
of encounter, of mutual respect, understanding and forgiveness”.
Education
is key to achieving this aim, but it must take the form “not only
of the transmission of knowledge, but also the passing down of lived
experience, that presupposes the establishment of a communion of
life, of an 'alliance' with the young generations, always open to the
truth. Indeed, we must be able to transmit to them not only knowledge
about Jewish-Catholic dialogue, about the difficulties overcome and
the progress made in recent decades; we must, above all, be able to
transmit to them our passion for encounter and knowledge of the
other, promoting the active and responsible involvement of young
people. In this, shared commitment to the service of society and to
its weakest members takes on a role of great importance”.
The
Holy Father concluded by encouraging the members of the Simon
Wiesenthal Centre to continue their work of “transmitting to the
young the values of common efforts to refuse walls and to build
bridges between our cultures and traditions of faith. Go ahead, with
trust, courage and hope. Shalom!”
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