New York, NY, June 1, 2006 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) welcomed Pope Benedict XVI's address at his general audience in Rome where, in reflecting on his recent sojourn to Auschwitz, he explicitly condemned anti-Semitism and linked it to the mass extermination of six million Jews in the Holocaust.

"While we were concerned about his remarks at Auschwitz, Pope Benedict has clarified himself and clearly acknowledged the anti-Semitism that led to the Holocaust," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director and a Holocaust survivor.  "We believe the Pontiff understood our distress, and was able to correct himself by clearly denouncing the hateful ideas that fueled the Nazi genocide."

In dedicating his May 31 general audience to reflections about his trip to Poland, the Pope said: "May modern humanity not forget Auschwitz and the other 'death factories' where the Nazi regime attempted to eliminate God in order to take his place.  May it not give in to the temptation of racial hatred, which is the origin of the worst forms of anti-Semitism."

Pope Benedict also stated that, "In the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, as in other similar camps, Hitler ordered the extermination of more than six million Jews."

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.