On Monday morning, Pope  John Paul II received members of the European section of the Simon Wiesenthal Center of Paris, an institution founded in 1977 in order to preserve the memory of the Holocaust. 

The members of the Wiesenthal Center visited the Pope in order to congratulate him for the 25th anniversary of his pontificate.

After expressing gratitude for the visit, the Pope spoke to the members of the center: “In these difficult times, let us pray that all peoples everywhere will be strengthened in their commitment to mutual understanding, reconciliation and peace.”