Pope Francis has strongly condemned anti-Semitism while addressing a delegation of the Jewish Simon Wiesenthal Centre, yesterday in Rome. Pope Francis stressed the need to “fight all forms of racism, intolerance and anti-Semitism, while preserving the memory of the Holocaust and promoting mutual understanding through training and social commitment”. In particular, the Pope said, “the problem of intolerance should be dealt with as a whole: every time a minority is persecuted and marginalised because of his religious beliefs or ethnicity, the good of the whole society is in danger”. He added: “Sadly, I am thinking of the suffering, marginalisation and real persecution that some Christians are experiencing in different parts of the world.” Pope Francis said everyone “should feel involved”. “Let us join forces to promote a culture of encounter, respect, understanding and mutual forgiveness,” he said. Receiving the delegation of the Wiesenthal Centre, Francis recalled that the meeting had already been set “by my beloved predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, to whom you had asked to be allowed to visit and which must always be our loving thoughts and our prayers”.