Pope Francis visits Rome synagogue to mark interfaith friendship

Amid tight security, Pope Francis Sunday joined the oldest Jewish community in the Diaspora at the main synagogue of Rome and denounced all violence committed in the name of God. The pontiff rejected all forms of anti-Semitism and called for early intervention to prevent another Holocaust. He repeated that the Jews are the “elder brothers and sisters” of Christians.

Francis laid a wreath at a plaque outside the synagogue marking the place where the Jews of Rome were rounded up by the Nazis in 1943. He laid another wreath marking the slaying of a 2-year old Jewish boy in an attack on the synagogue by Palestinians in 1982.  He met with members of the boy's family and survivors of the attack before entering the synagogue. The 2,000-strong Jewish congregation rose and applauded the visitor.