(Jewish Group) Pope honors Slovak Holocaust victims on site of demolished synagogue

Pope Francis, at a memorial to the more than 100,000 Slovak Jews killed in the Holocaust, said on Monday that it was shameful how people who said they believed in God perpetrated or permitted "unspeakable acts of inhumanity".

At a somber ceremony at a spot where a synagogue was demolished during the post-war communist era, ostensibly to make room for a bridge, the pope said the real reason was because "they wanted to cancel every trace of the (Jewish) community."

"Here, in this place, the Name of God was dishonored, for the worst form of blasphemy is to exploit it for our own purposes, refusing to respect and love others," the pope told representatives of the Jewish communities of Slovakia.

"Here, reflecting on the history of the Jewish people marked by this tragic affront to the Most High, we admit with shame how often his ineffable Name has been used for unspeakable acts of inhumanity!" Francis said.

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