Jonathan Mendez is a junior studying abroad in Toledo, Spain. He is majoring in Psychology and Spanish, with a minor in Theology and is also a Sorin Scholar. The Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion is pleased to have been able to provide a grant to support his research in Rome.
As a Catholic studentat the University of Notre Dame, I believe that it is essential to understand and learn from other religions in an effort to better understand mine. That is why, while studying abroad in Toledo, Spain, I decided to travel to Rome. With Vatican City at its center, Rome was the obvious choice to learn more about Catholicism. More specifically, I was curious in studying the historical relationship between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people living in Rome. Demographically, there are 35,000 Jews in Italy, 13,500 of them living in Rome. In order to learn more about the Jewish people, I explored the historic Jewish quarters of the city, along with the Jewish Museum and the Great Synagogue in the center of it.
The history of the Jewish people in Europe is one unfortunately marked with discrimination and persecution. With the Crusades in 1095, Jewish people were expelled from many European countries, and falsely blamed for many of the problems facing the continent during that time. In 1215, Jews were forbidden from holding many jobs except for money lending for interest, which was forbidden to Christians. During Spain’s Reconquista in the late 1400s, they were forced to convert or be expelled from the country. As a result of this, many Jews took refuge in Rome. However, in the 1500s, with the rise of the Catholic/Counter-Reformation, rulers of many cities confined the Jews into ghettos, enclosing them into neighborhoods with limited freedoms. The ghettos were established in the papal states when Pope Paul IV Carafa issued a Papal bull titled “Cum nimis absurdum.” A Papal bull is an official decree issued by the Pope of the Catholic Church, and this bull revoked all rights of the Jewish community, establishing a plethora of strict rules they must follow. One such rule was that Jews were required to wear a yellow badge so that they could be recognized. Under Napoleon’s rule (1798-1799 and 1808-1814), the Jews reclaimed some of their civil rights, but lost them again once the French left and the ghetto was extended in 1824. Although the ghetto’s gates and walls were dismantled in 1848, the harsh living conditions in the city remained until 1870. Those in Rome were the last of the Western European Jews granted full rights as citizens of their own country.
The Great Synagogue of Rome was inaugurated on July 28th, 1904, and became the symbol of Jewish freedom within the city. Pope John Paul II stated that the Jewish people were “our greatest brothers,” and that a new relationship would be forged. To establish this new connection between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people in Rome, he visited the Great Synagogue on April 13th, 1986, starting a tradition. On January 17th, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI visited the temple, and Pope Francis visited on January 16th, 2016.
By exploring the local shops and restaurants within the community, I was able to learn more about their customs and culture. There were plenty of restaurants within the community, all following the Jewish dietary laws, especially that it is kosher, or suitable for Jewish people to eat. Walking around, some of the women had yellow pins on, a symbol of solidarity with Israeli hostages held in Gaza since October 7, 2023. There were many posters around the town showing pictures of the hostages or those killed during the war.
I was able to interview two Jewish women in the community to understand their perspective on the Catholic Church. To converse with them, I showed them a questionnaire I made in English that I translated to Italian. The first woman was named Sofia*, who works as a baker. Although she has a positive relationship with the Catholic tourists of the city, she has a negative relationship with the Catholic clergy around her. She believes that Jewish and Catholic residents do not have a positive relationship in the city, and that their relationship is now weaker with the conflict in Israel. She does not think that the Jewish population has historically been treated well in Rome. I also spoke with a woman named Mia* who worked at the Jewish museum. She agreed that the Jewish people have good relationships with their Catholic neighbors, but that they were not adequately represented by their government representatives or the media. She is in agreement with Fiorela that the Jewish population has historically not been treated well in Rome.
Overall, being able to learn more about the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people in Rome was an incredible opportunity. I believe that it is important to come to terms with the fact that the Catholic Popes did not always treat the Jewish population well, so that actions like this do not occur in the future. Furthermore, I learned that in Judaism, giving to the poor is “tzedakah”, an act of justice and one of the main obligations of Jewish religious and social life. This reminds me a lot of Catholic Social Teachings, just one of the many similarities between these two faiths and a reminder to treat everyone with respect and the inherent dignity they deserve.
*Note names have been changed to protect anonimity.