In 1858, by order of the Inquisitor of Bologna, six-year-old Edgardo Mortara (1851–1940) was taken away from his Jewish parents on the grounds that – without their knowledge – he had been baptized. Despite worldwide protests, Pope Pius IX refused to return the boy, who eventually decided to live as a priest, to his parents. The practice of child abduction that by then was perceived a…
Mortara Case(2,379 words)
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Kertzer, David I., “Mortara Case”, in: Encyclopedia of Jewish History and Culture Online, Original German Language Edition: Enzyklopädie Jüdischer Geschichte und Kultur. Im Auftrag der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig herausgegeben von Dan Diner. © J.B. Metzler, Stuttgart/Springer-Verlag GmbH Deutschland 2011–2017. Consulted online on 30 May 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2468-8894_ejhc_COM_0561>
First published online: 2017
First print edition: 20210312
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