Pope Francis makes his first visit on Sunday to a synagogue as pontiff, citing an “unbreakable” bond between Jews and Christians as hundreds of armed security personnel were deployed for the Rome visit.
Francis is the third pope to visit the Great Synagogue in Italy’s capital after John-Paul II in 1986 and Benedict XVI in 2010.
Evoking “the unbreakable bond between Jews and Christians,” the pope delivers a message of peace.
“Violence against men is in contradiction with any religion worthy of the name, and in particular the big monotheist religions,” he says.
The pope is greeted with applause as he arrives and is met on the synagogue steps by Rome’s chief rabbi Riccardo Di Segni.
Francis in turn greets some 1,500 invited guests who filled the religious site to witness the pontiff’s visit.
— AFP
Pope Francis, flanked by Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni, right, during his first visit to a synagogue as pope on January 17, 2016. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
