INTERFAITH DIALOGUE – Historian Alberto Melloni: “Nostra Aetate started a struggle” 

Alberto Melloni is one of the most influential historians of the Christian Church. He is a UNESCO Professor of Religious Pluralism at the University Sapienza of Rome and of History of Christianity at various Italian universities. An expert on Christian-Jewish relations, he outlined the characteristics of “new” antisemitism—a form of antisemitism full of anti-Judaism—in an essay published in Il Grand Continent, a periodical of geopolitical studies and intellectual debate. 

How does this relate to Nostra Aetate (In Our Time), the landmark Second Vatican Council declaration that significantly changed the Catholic Church’s relationship with non-Christian religions, especially Judaism?

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, originally issued on October 28, 1965, the scholar described a general context of transience that has emerged over the past two years. “October 7 and all that followed made us realize how fragile our most noble hope was. We thought of it as a broken crystal vase. We thought everything would be solved. We thought every piece would return to its place by itself,” he said to Pagine Ebraiche. “We however realized that Nostra Aetate had stretched the bounds of what could be called into question. For many, the war between Israel and Gaza that began on October 7 came as a revelation. “In the wind of the word ‘genocide,’ a dogmatic, complex, and totalitarian construct has consolidated. It replaced the old accusations of deicide and brought back accusations of blood libel. Compassion for civilians is fair and unquestionable, but Gaza’s war is surely not the only war in which civilians have died,” Melloni reflected. 

Over the past few years, conscious or unconscious anti-Judaism has made a comeback. This does not surprise Melloni. He said that it took the Church “400 years to become antisemitic, and 1,500 years to heal from it.” The misunderstanding about October 7 and “what Hamas had in mind—a miniature Shoah, with the goal of rendering the land around Gaza like Belarus in the late 1800s”—came from this as well.

In 2022, Melloni organized an exhibition for the 40th anniversary of the Palestinian attack on the Synagogue of Rome, in which Stefano Gaj Taché, a child, lost his life on October 9, 1982. “I am impressed by the atmosphere in Italy right now. It seems to me very similar to the climate preceding that attack. Roman Catholicism should have a sterner voice,” Melloni emphasized. 

“Pope Leo XIV hasn’t given anyone permission to use the word ‘genocide,’ but his predications on peace remain too vague: Weapons should remain silent and hearts should speak up.” Melloni suggests that something else should be done. “We should explain the philological inaccuracy of the short-circuit,” he said. “Some people continue to say: in Gaza there is a genocide taking place, because Israel is genocidal and it has been since 1948. The victims have become the perpetrators; the executioners are Zionists.” 

“There is extremism in Israel as well, even in the institutions, Melloni admitted. However, “what Ben Gvir, Smotrich, and the ‘youth of the hills’ say is neither Zionism nor Judaism as I have studied them. They resemble those extremist evangelical fringes, which are far from ‘authentic’ Christianity. Judaism and Christianity have a sacred respect for the messianic delay, and they practice a proper cult of waiting. 

Melloni said the issue becomes dramatic “when, as in the most classic antisemitic stereotype, something that does not belong to Jewish history is used to collectively blame Jews.” 

In light of the anniversary of Nostra Aetate and the reflections that have arisen from many quarters, what can Christians do to counteract this trend?

“They should continue to affirm with all their strength that encounter, fraternity, and listening to Judaism are essential because a Christian cannot think of himself without Judaism.”

And what about the Jewish world?

“Be mild and strict at the same time, without taking anything for granted or considering anything lost. Judaism must speak and explain itself to everyone.” Melloni continued, “I was impressed by the presence of Italian and Roman Jewish institutions at Pope Francis’s funeral, despite the Sabbath. Jews should not lose touch with the Catholic Church, even if it’s just to point out that we didn’t understand each other.” Melloni concluded that “if this relationship were to be broken, if the Italian Jewish community were to feel abandoned, it would cause great harm to the entire country.”

Translated by Rebecca Luna Escobar and revised by Matilde Bortolussi, students at the Advanced School for Interpreters and Translators of the University of Trieste, trainees in the newsroom of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities – Pagine Ebraiche.