On Sunday, June 17, the National Youth Panel for Interreligious Dialogue—an Italian network uniting young representatives from various faith traditions—met for the first time in a Jewish venue. The event, which took place at the Pitigliani Center in Rome, aimed to prepare for the June 24–25 symposium of Italy’s religious leaders. “We are very glad for this experience and the warm welcome from the Jewish community. The program was excellent. Everyone felt welcome, regardless of their religion,” said Father Giuliano Savina, director of the National Office for Ecumenism and Interfaith Dialogue of the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI). “The youth dialogue was excellent. There is a real openness to working on ‘humanizing the human,’ which is so deeply needed at this time.”
“It was not just a chat among self-congratulating people. We work to develop documents and achieve concrete agreements,” explained Matias Uriel Girotto, vice president of the Union of Young Italian Jews (UGEI). “Until now, the CEI has hosted and coordinated the meetings. We were the first participants to welcome the panel at a different venue, which signaled a positive opening.”
Livia Ottolenghi, president of the Union of the Italian Jewish Community, participated in the event alongside Chief Rabbi of Rome Riccardo Di Segni and Guido Coen, the UCEI coordinator for interfaith dialogue. Representatives of the CEI, the Italian Buddhist Union, and Islamic and Catholic organizations also participated. The program included visits to the ancient Jewish ghetto and the Great Synagogue (see photo).