Pope Francis met with a delegation of Jewish leaders from B’nai B’rith International. Photo: Twitter.

JNS.org – Pope Francis met with a delegation of Jewish leaders from B’nai B’rith International on Thursday at the Vatican, where he called for continued Jewish and Christian cooperation “for the good of the peoples of our time.”

Pope Francis said that “respect for life and creation, human dignity, justice, and solidarity unite us for the development of society and for securing a future rich in hope for generations to come,” Vatican Radio reported.

“In a particular way, we are called to pray and work together for peace. Unfortunately, there are many countries and regions of the world that live in situations of conflict—I think in particular of the Holy Land and the Middle East—and that require a courageous commitment to peace,” he said.

Founded in 1843, B’nai B’rith is the world’s oldest Jewish service organization and works to fight antisemitism and other human rights abuses, in addition to providing humanitarian aid and emergency assistance to those in need.