ROME - Pope Francis made a historic visit on Sunday to the Great Synagogue of Rome, the first trip since Pope Benedict XVI’s visit in January 2010 and a major step forward in relations with the Jewish faith during the Argentinian pontiff's reign. 

  Prior to his speech at the Synagogue, the pontiff laid flowers on a plaque commemorating the deportation of Roman Jews in 1943 and a wreath on an effigy in memory of Stefano Gai Taché, the child killed in the terrorist attack of 1982.

  During his speech, the pope said that violence in the name of God "contradicts every religion worthy of that name, especially the three great monotheistic religions," to the congregation of Jews and Christians. He added that "conflicts, wars, violence and injustices open deep wounds in humanity and call us to strengthen the commitment to peace and justice.”

 The pontiff also took the opportunity to mention that the Holocaust is an event in history that must never be forgotten and that anti-Semitism should be prevented. "We all belong to one family - the family of God" said the pope, adding that we should say "no to every form of anti-Semitism and condemn every injury, discrimination and persecution stemming from it". The pontiff subsequently recalled October 16, 1943, the day that SS troops stormed Rome's Jewish Ghetto and took 1,024 people, including 200 children, to concentration camps in Auschwitz.

  "Today I wish to remember them from the heart," Francis said. "Their suffering, their anguish, their tears must never be forgotten - and the past must be a lesson to us in the present and the future”.

  Jewish-Italian Communities President Renzo Gattegna praised the pope's speech, yet added that "I believe we need to come up with a common strategy to spread the message... of mutual friendship and brotherhood more widely.”   

  The pontiff’s visit coincided with the annual Day of Judaism, a Christian-Jewish day of reflection established by the Catholic Church in Italy in 1989 and held each year on January 17.

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