At a ceremony marking the grim anniversary of the deportation of Rome's Jews during World War II, Pope Francis said, "A Christian cannot be anti-Semitic! Let Anti-Semitism be banished from the heart and life of every man and every woman!" You can read an account of the commemoration at Vatican radio by clicking here.
LOVE THIS POPE!
And, again, we see a deep continuity with his predecessors: John XXIII who encouraged Cardinal Bea and those who sought a rapprochement with the Jewish community, Paul VI who ushered Nostra Aetate through the Council, John Paul II whose iconic visit to the Rome synagogue and to the Western Wall are among the most indelible of memories, and Benedict XVI who, being the first German in modern times to ascend to the See of Peter, placed special significance on meeting with Jewish leaders on all his trips and whose deep appreciation for the spiritual patrimony we share with Jews in our Hebrew Scriptures profoundly influenced his many theological writings.
