Expert: accusations of anti-semitism against Carlo Acutis exaggerated
The internet apostle, who will be canonized in September, had collected Eucharistic miracles, some of which involved "blood hosts," which, in a historical context, were accompanied by accusations of ritual murder against Jews.
The German liturgical scholar Marco Benini considers accusations of anti-Semitism against Carlo Acutis (1991-2006) to be exaggerated. He said this on Friday on "Deutschlandfunk." The young man known as the "internet apostle," who will be canonized in September, had collected Eucharistic miracles in a list on his website, some of which, according to Benini, should also be viewed critically. Among them were miracles involving so-called "blood hosts," from which anti-Jewish acts were derived.
The term "blood host" means that after the theft or desecration of hosts, blood supposedly appeared on the bread. This "desecration of the host" has often been blamed on Jews throughout history, who subsequently repeatedly became victims of violence. According to Benini's assessment, however, Acutis was probably completely unaware of these connections: he had simply compiled a list of all the Eucharistic miracles he could find on the internet. Benini emphasized that the canonization planned for September 7 was not about the canonization of medieval miracles, but rather "the canonization of a fifteen-year-old boy who collected them."
Among the critics of the canonization is Felix Klein, the German Federal Government Commissioner against Antisemitism. He recently stated that anti-Jewish aspects in the context of Eucharistic miracles were not considered in the Church's decision and called on the Church to address this aspect. Austrian journalist Otto Friedrich also pointed to this issue in an article in the "Herder Korrespondenz" newspaper, identifying "anti-Jewish biases."
Role model for young people
According to Benini, a young, modern, and likeable person is being canonized, namely Carlo Acutis, who died of leukemia at the age of 15. The Church deliberately places a young person at the center so that young people can identify with him, the theologian said. This shows: "Holiness is not fixed to a specific age and not a thing of past centuries, but is also possible today."
The tradition of relic veneration, which seems strange to many people, can best be explained with a comparison, according to Benini: Just as one feels particularly close at the grave of a deceased person, a relic makes the closeness of a saint clear. If someone wants to get closer to the saint through the relic, then that's fine, but "if someone says, no, I don't need that, then that's fine too."
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