Pope praises work of Simon Wiesenthal Centre

On Thursday morning Pope Francis received a 60 member 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”.

In his speech, Rabbi Marvin Hier, Dean and Founder of the Jewish human rights NGO, raised the continuing threats from terrorists and rogue nations, like Iran.

“There is no greater virtue in Judaism than peace or ‘Shalom’. Peace dominates our prayers. Peace, ‘Shalom’ is one of the names of the Almighty himself, “ Rabbi Hier said. “But peace is attainable, …only if one is willing to make changes.”

“There are some nations who can’t compromise. That’s what Chamberlain forgot in 1938 when he returned from Munich with his ‘Peace in our time’. Only Churchill understood who Hitler really was. If not for him, today’s audience with Your Holiness and a delegation from the Simon Wiesenthal Center could never have taken place.”

Turning to the resurgence of anti-Semitism, Rabbi Hier said: “75 years after the infamous Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) pogrom, a poll commissioned by the respected Ebert Foundation estimates that 150 million Europeans still harbor anti-Jewish sentiment.

“Your Holiness, we know that we have you as an ally in our struggles against anti-Semitism, and we want to reiterate to you that you have an ally in the Simon Wiesenthal Center in your struggle to secure the rights of religious minorities everywhere, especially endangered historic Christian communities in Egypt, Iraq and beyond.”

“Finally, we are delighted that Your Holiness has accepted an invitation to visit Israel next year – the spiritual center of the Jewish people, where Jews, Christians and Muslims are free to practice their faith and to express their opinions without fear or repression. May your presence there help all those committed to a lasting Middle East peace, to finally recognize the existence of a Jewish state alongside her twenty-three Arab neighbors,” Rabbi Hier concluded.

Pope Francis said: “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!”

To read the report on the Simon Wesenthall Centre website see: www.wiesenthal.com/site/apps/nlnet/content.aspx?c=lsKWLbPJLnF&b=8776547&ct=13376107&notoc=1

Source: VIS/SWC