A 30-member delegation from the Simon Wiesenthal Center met with Pope Francis on June 22 and presented the Pope with a copy of a 1919 document by Adolf Hitler calling for the destruction of the Jews.
Based in Los Angeles, the Jewish organization is named after human rights activist Simon Wiesenthal (1908-2005) and is devoted to Holocaust research.

Emphasizing the importance of “the fight against anti-Semitism, bigotry and genocide,” Rabbi Marvin Hier told Pope Francis that “our world needs your leadership now more than ever.”

The Pontiff “denounced the current wave of anti-Semitism” and “urged the [Center] to continue to serve as a bridge between the past and the future,” according to the Center.