Vatican: Pope Francis has met with members of the World Jewish Congress.
An article published on September 27 by the Vatican newspaper, the ‘Osservatore Romano’, highlighted how the Holy Father spoke the previous day about a series of issues pertaining to inter faith relations and the current migration crisis on the European continent.
“Europe often forgets that it has been enriched by migrants,” – Pope Francis said – “Europe is closing itself up. Europe is lacking creativity. Europe has a falling birth rate, and problems of high unemployment.”
Pope Francis also spoke about migrants integrating into their new surroundings, which he called “important.”
“The people who committed the terrorist attacks in Belgium were not properly integrated,” he said.
Pope Francis also reiterated a good Christian could not be an anti-Semite, and said Christians and Jews must speak out against brutality in the world, Vatican radio reported.
“We need more friendliness and kindness, and we should not be afraid to speak out against brutality,” – the Holy Father said – “We should go on a joint journey together to make the world more secure. We need to speak out for peace.”
The World Jewish Congress includes the heads of Jewish communities in Europe and the Americas, and in light of the upcoming Rosh Hashana holiday, Pope Francis wished the Jewish world a happy new year.