The ad interim Director of the Vatican Press Office, Alessandro Gisotti, issues a statement confirming a meeting that took place in the Vatican  between the organizing committee of the “Protection of Minors in the Church” Meeting and several victims of abuse.”As was announced during the course of the Press Conference on 18 February in the Press Office of the Holy See, this morning the Organizing Committee for the Meeting on “The Protection of Minors in the Church” met a group of representatives of victims of sexual abuse by members of the clergy. There were 12 people, men and women, from different parts of the world who belong to various organizations. The meeting lasted a little bit more than two hours. The members of the Committee are very grateful to the victims who participated for their sincerity, the depth and the strength of their testimonies, which will certainly help them to always better understand the gravity and urgency of the difficulties that they will confront during the course of the Meeting.”

Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said in an interview with the German Welt am Sonntag newspaper he’s concerned about a sharp rise in anti-Semitic attacks in France.” The anti-Semitic incidents in France are disturbing and frightening for the Jewish community in Germany also,” Schuster said. France is not the only EU country experiencing a spike in antiSemitic acts; both Germany and Britain have also reported an uptick last year, reaching a record 1,652 in the UK.