A new look at an old story
A tale of two popes
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PrintThere’s a lingering controversy over the possible canonization of Pope Pius XII (1876-1958). Some Jews believe that he did not do enough to protect Jews from the Holocaust. Perhaps unfairly, he has even been called “Hitler’s Pope.”
Many Jews also opposed the canonization of Pope Pius IX (1792-1878), in part because of his role in the abduction of Edgardo Mortara and his refusal to deliver him back to his parents.
Pius IX had a mixed record when it came to Jews. He started out as a liberal, opening the ghetto in Rome; later he closed the ghetto. And in a speech in 1871 he called the Jews of Rome “dogs” and said “of these dogs, there are too many of them at present in Rome, and we hear them howling in the streets, and they are disturbing us in all places.”
Edgardo Mortara himself always praised the pope, and strongly favored his canonization — which occurred in 2000.
Elena Mortara, a great-great-granddaughter of one of Edgardo’s sisters and a professor of literature in Rome, campaigned for an apology from the for Edgardo’s abduction and against the canonization of Pius IX.
She has said she is “appalled at the idea that the Catholic Church wants to make a saint out of a pope who perpetuated such an act of unacceptable intolerance and abuse of power.”
More on: A new look at an old story
Edgardo’s story
This account is based on the book “Emancipation,” by Michael Goldfarb (Simon & Schuster, 2009).
Edgardo Mortara, age 6, was the son of a Jewish merchant in Bologna, the fourth of six children.
As a baby he became seriously ill, and the family’s 14-year-old housemaid, Anna Morisi, “baptized” him. She took a small glass of water, sprinkled it on the baby’s head, and said the holy words. To her, it was an act of kindness — in case the child died.
Edgardo recovered.
The abduction of a Jewish child
The plot has everything a grand opera should have: an abduction, a distraught mother and father, a famous historical figure (Pope Pius IX), a furious conflict (between Jews and Roman Catholics), suspense about the resolution, and a stunning, shocking ending.
“Il Caso Mortara” (“The Mortara Case”), which premieres at the Dicapo Opera Theatre in New York on Thursday, Feb. 25, is based on a true story: the abduction in 1858 of a 6-year-old Jewish boy, Edgardo Mortara. When he was ill, he was secretly baptized by a servant in his home in Bologna, Italy. When papal authorities learned that he had been baptized, Edgardo was kidnapped and raised as a Christian. Later, he declined to return to his family and became a prominent member of the Augustine order. His case provoked outrage throughout the world, and even President Ulysses S. Grant, Emperor Franz Josef, and Napoleon III appealed for his release.
