Cardinal Parolin and Minister Roccella Address Controversy Over Auschwitz School Trips
Rome: People don’t go on field trips to Auschwitz, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said Wednesday, commenting on Family Minister Eugenia Roccella’s remarks regarding Italian school trips to Auschwitz being organized to associate anti-Semitism with Fascism, a statement that sparked a significant uproar in Italy.
According to Ansa News Agency, Parolin’s comment led Roccella to express her full agreement with him. “You certainly don’t go on a trip to Auschwitz,” said Parolin. “You go to Auschwitz to remember an immense tragedy that struck the people of Israel and which must remain a warning to all of us, even in the face of the rise in anti-Semitism we are unfortunately witnessing.” Roccella, who also holds the position of birth rate and equal opportunities minister, echoed Parolin’s sentiment by stating: “I completely agree with Cardinal Parolin.”
Roccella emphasized that one shouldn’t visit Auschwitz as a mere trip but rather as an opportunity to remember past anti-Semitism and combat its present-day manifestations, which she described as a scourge that must be collectively defeated. She clarified that this was the intended message behind her initial comments. Following the backlash, Roccella reached out to Holocaust survivor and Life Senator Liliana Segre on Monday to address the controversy surrounding her ‘trips’ remark.
Roccella, affiliated with Premier Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, had previously suggested that trips to Auschwitz were meant to convey that anti-Semitism was a characteristic of a specific historical period: fascism. She indicated that this was the reason such trips were promoted. On Sunday, Roccella asserted that her statements had been misinterpreted and expressed her willingness to appear before the parliamentary commission dedicated to combating intolerance, racism, anti-Semitism, and incitement to hatred and violence. This commission was established by Segre herself, and Roccella intends to provide clarification on her remarks.