[REUTERS] Pope Francis made his first visit as pontiff to a synagogue on Sunday, where, in a reference to Islamist attacks, he condemned violence in the name of religion.Amid chanting of psalms in Hebrew and speeches underscoring the remarkable advances in Catholic-Jewish relations in the past 50 years, Francis became the third pontiff to visit Rome's main synagogue, after popes John Paul and Benedict.
The temple is just across the Tiber River from the Vatican, and is rich with symbolism of the past persecution of Jews, who for nearly 300 years until the mid-19th century were forced to live in the adjoining quarter still known as The Ghetto and make compulsory payments to the popes.
Security was exceptionally tight in the area, with even journalists going through three separate checks in the space of less than 100 meters. Anti-terror police patrolled both sides of the riverbank, which was closed to the public.
"The violence of man against man is in contradiction with any religion worthy of this name, in particular the three great monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam)," he said in what appeared to be a reference to attacks by Islamist Death Eaters.