Pope Francis on Monday
warned against antisemitism and populism in an audience with a
delegation from the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
The pope recalled his visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau
concentration camp, and condemned antisemitism in every form.
The pope described "an increase in selfishness and
indifference" in many parts of the world.
"This creates a fertile ground for the forms of factionalism
and populism we see around us, where hatred quickly springs up",
he said.
We need to address the cause of the problem by committing
ourselves to "tilling the soil in which hatred grows and sowing
peace instead", said Pope Francis.
"For it is through integration and seeking to understand
others that we more effectively protect ourselves".
This means reintegrating those who are marginalized, reaching
out to those far away, and assisting those who are victims of
intolerance and discrimination, said the Pope.
Pope Francis concluded with a prayer to "make the earth a
better place by sowing seeds of peace".
We need to put the "rich spiritual patrimony that Jews and
Christians possess" at the service of others, he said.
"Not to take the path of distance and exclusion, but that of
proximity and inclusion; not to force solutions, but to initiate
ways of drawing closer together".
"If we do not do this", asked Pope Francis, "then who will?"
In welcoming the delegation from the Wiesenthal Centre, the
pope noted how it actively "seeks to combat all forms of
antisemitism, racism and hatred towards minorities".
The Simon Wiesenthal Centre has maintained contacts with the
Holy See for decades, said the Pope, "in a shared desire to make
the world a better place in respect for human dignity. This
dignity is due to every person in equal measure, regardless of
his or her ethnic origin, religion or social status", he added.
The Pope said: "It is essential to teach tolerance, mutual
understanding and freedom of religion, and the promotion of
peace within society".
27 January will mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of the
liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Pope
Francis recalled visiting the camp in 2016, "to reflect and to
pray in silence". "In our world, with its whirlwind of activity,
we find it hard to pause, to look within and to listen in
silence to the plea of suffering humanity", he said.
The Pope reflected on how our consumerist society squanders
words: "how many unhelpful words are spoken, how much time is
wasted in arguing, accusing, shouting insults, without a real
concern for what we say. Silence, on the other hand, helps to
keep memory alive. If we lose our memory, we destroy our
future", he added.
"May the anniversary of the unspeakable cruelty that humanity
learned of seventy-five years ago serve as a summons to pause,
to be still and to remember", said Pope Francis. "We need to do
this, lest we become indifferent".
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