Persecuting the Jews “is neither human nor Christian”, Pope Francis said in his off-the-cuff remarks during his Wednesday Audience catechesis today. The letter was dedicated to the figures of Aquila and Priscilla, a Christian married couple who were helping the Apostle Paul and were forced to move from Rome to Corinth after the emperor Claudius had ordered the expulsion of the Jews. “The Jewish people have suffered so much throughout history”, Pope Francis remarked off the cuff. “They have been banished, persecuted… And, in the last century, we saw so many brutalities inflicted on the Jewish people, and we were all convinced that this was over”. “But today, the habit of persecuting the Jews is beginning to resurface”, Pope Francis warned, continuing off the cuff: “Brothers and sisters, this is neither human nor Christian. The Jews are our brothers, and they should not be persecuted. Do you understand?”. At the beginning of the catechesis, the Holy Father recalled off the cuff that “this audience is being held in two groups: the sick are in the Paul VI Hall. I was with them, I greeted and blessed them, there are around 250 of them… There they will be more comfortable due to the rain. But they watch us on the maxi-screen”. “Let us greet them with applause”, he told the 14,000 faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square today, who promptly answered.