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A member of the Vatican’s Swiss Guards, the world’s smallest army whose primary role is to protect the pope, is under investigation for allegedly making a spitting gesture towards two Jewish women.
The alleged incident occurred at one of the side entrances to St Peter’s Square as people gathered for a general audience on 29 October, during which Pope Leo condemned antisemitism.
The women were among a Jewish delegation attending the event marking the 60th anniversary of the Nostra aetate, a declaration on the Catholic church’s relations with non-Christian religions.
In an interview with Kathpress, an Austrian Catholic news agency, Michal Govrin, a Tel Aviv-based author and theatre director, said that as she and another woman entered the square a Swiss Guard “noticeably hissed at us with deep contempt, “les juifs” (the Jews)”.
When the guard was challenged, she added, he allegedly “made an act of spitting in our direction with clear contempt”. With Govrin was Vivian Liska, the director of the Institute of Jewish Studies in Antwerp.
On Monday, Cpl Eliah Cinotti, a spokesperson for the Swiss Guards, said the guard had been placed under internal investigation “as is standard procedure” in order “to be sure of the professionalism of the guards in service”.
It is understood that the alleged incident arose when “a person … asked for a photo[of the Swiss Guard]”, and “it all started from there”, Cinotti added. “But to be clear – the Swiss Guard completely distances itself from any form of antisemitism,” Cinotti said.
During the audience Pope Leo, who was elected in May after the death of Pope Francis, said it “should not be forgotten that the first focus of the Nostra aetate was towards the Jewish world”. Among other issues, the 1965 document repudiated the centuries-old charge that Jews as a whole were responsible for the death of Christ.
The Catholic church, added Leo, “decries hatred, persecutions, displays of antisemitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone”.
Francis, who died in April, also condemned antisemitism while expressing solidarity with Palestinians and publicly criticising Israel’s war in Gaza, much to the resentment of the Israeli government. Late last year, Francis called for an investigation into whether Israel’s war in Gaza constituted genocide.
