Women, in St Peter’s Square for audience with Pope Leo in which he condemned antisemitism, say guard ‘noticeably hissed at us’
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)”.
