An Analysis of David Kertzers

The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortata

Daniel Luu

HIST140
Section 0106
November 25, 2014

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David Kertzer describes, in length, the story of the kidnapping of Edgardo of Mortata and
how it leads to the collapse of the churchs power. Using incredibly convincing evidence with a
causative timeline building on each element, Kertzer comes to the conclusion that Edgardos
kidnapping started a domino effect. However, I disagree with this statement due to the bias of
Kertzers view and his misjudgment of other events happening at the time and their true impact
on society. I believe that significant movements such as the increasing amount of modernism,
secularism, and liberalism revolutions in Italy and invasions of the French had a much larger
impact. The following summary of Kertzers version of the story and argument along with an
analysis of its flaws clearly shows the true reason the Catholic hierarchy fell.

The story begins at a small household in Bologna, Italy. On June 24th 1858 the popes
military force barges in and seizes the six year old boy, Edgardo Mortata. His parents were
informed that Edgardo had been charged with being illegally baptized. The police had no other
choice but to follow their orders from the inquisitor, Father Feletti, and deliver him to the Roman
Catholic Church. Feletti did honor a request from the family and allowed a 24 hour stay of
execution. However, it was only because he was afraid the family would kill their own son to
prevent him from becoming a Christian. After the day had passed, Edgardo was transported by
carriage to Rome. The Church reports that there was an unbelievable miracle on the journey
there. Edgardo was enlightened, he began showing interest in the Catholic faith and was more
than eager to arrive at the church.

The cruel truth behind these events was that Edgardo had been secretly baptized without
permission from his own parents. The act of baptizing an individual only requires the baptizer to
1.
2.
3.

Grew, Raymond. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 68, No. 1, 2000.
Holmes, George. The Oxford Illustrated History of Italy, 1997
Reggies Blog. The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara, David Kertzer Last modified December 30 th 2010.
http://mediotutissimus.blogspot.com/2010/12/kidnapping-of-edgardo-mortara-david.html

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have the same intentions as the church and to sprinkle holy water on to the subject. The official
law did state that a baptism could only occur with a clergyman and permission from the parents.
However, these rules could be ignored if the individual was a child nearing death. Edgardo fell
into this unfortunate situation which was irreversible at this point. The real crime was because
the Mortata family was Jewish. The Church, seeing Edgardo as a Christian now, could not
accept the fact that his parents were trying to pull him away from his new faith by teaching him
Jewish customs and practices.

Edgardos situation was not the only one. There were an immense amount of
kidnappings of Jewish children, illegally baptized by a Catholic servant. Many families had to
sign contracts with servants stating that they would not baptize their children. Some families that
had already fallen to the trap decided to flee the country in order to escape the rule of the Church.
All of these horrid events occurred in the Papal States, the regions of Italy directly controlled by
the Pope and the Church.2 The states had been receiving constant attacked with revolutions
supporting the idea of liberalism and modernism. The government was barely hanging on with a
small army of French and Austrian troops and loans from rich families like the Rothschilds.
With all the revolution, the church based government was more ruthless than ever. Negative
views towards Jews such as blood libel were still highly popular and Jews were locked into the
ghetto and restricted more than ever. 3

However, the Mortatas would not go down without a fight. Many letters were sent to
Father Feletti and even Pope Pius IX. These letters led to a submission in September 1858,
where the Jews argued that Edgardo should be returned to them according to their own Catholic
1.
2.
3.

Grew, Raymond. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 68, No. 1, 2000.
Holmes, George. The Oxford Illustrated History of Italy, 1997
Reggies Blog. The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara, David Kertzer Last modified December 30 th 2010.
http://mediotutissimus.blogspot.com/2010/12/kidnapping-of-edgardo-mortara-david.html

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documents. The Pope and the Church did not take kindly to being lectured on their own
doctrines. These events continued to feed the hungry press for stories to build their pro or anti
Catholic views. Reports of how Edgardo behaved in the house and how he behaved with his
parents varied. Catholic press would say that he had adapted to his new Catholic life and
excitedly accepted the customs that came with it. On the other hand, Jewish press presented the
more logical argument that a 6-year-old boy ripped from his parents arms was distressed and
wanted to return home. He did however was eventually seen as a noble member of the church
after settling in and was ordained a Catholic Priest.

There were many suspects for who baptized Edgardo in the first place. It was eventually
found that Anna Morsi, was a former Catholic servant of the Mortatas, was the culprit. At the
time, she believed that Edgardo was in serious danger of dying so she decided to baptize him to
save him from death. The Mortatas did everything they could to persecute Morsi. She was
called a liar, a whore, and a thief. Regardless of all these accusations, the church continued to
hold Edgardo. He continued to write to his parents but lost interest as they refused to convert to
Catholicism as he wanted. Conflicted about what society thought of him, Edgardo continued to
live in the church and follow what he had known for almost his entire life now. In 1870, the
Italian army marched into the Papal States and church dominance was obliterated.2 At this point
Father Feletti was arrested for his inhumane actions of kidnapping Edgardo from his family.
Many people believed that it did not matter that he committed these crimes under the old laws
and that he was still guilty. However, the court finally settled that Feletti was not guilty and he
was acquitted.

1.
2.
3.

Grew, Raymond. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 68, No. 1, 2000.
Holmes, George. The Oxford Illustrated History of Italy, 1997
Reggies Blog. The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara, David Kertzer Last modified December 30 th 2010.
http://mediotutissimus.blogspot.com/2010/12/kidnapping-of-edgardo-mortara-david.html

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Throughout the story, Kertzer makes several incredibly convincing points arguing that
the kidnapping of Edgardo Mortata lead to the entire downfall of the catholic hierarchy and the
rise of a secular Italy. From the epilogue, it can be seen that he was raised in a very anti-Catholic
environment. So even though Kertzer was for the most part neutral in his argument, the
aggression towards the church and its actions could clearly be seen. A good example of
presenting both sides of the case was anytime the press was mentioned. The church would give
out reports that would only benefit their cause and increase their reputation. A few examples
include, the reason for kidnapping Edgardo, Edgardos miraculous transformation on his way to
Rome, and how he behaved when he arrived at the church. All of these were twisted to favor
the church and masked Edgardos traumatic experience as something that was called for by God.
And of course the Jewish papers would say the exact opposite. Each of these aspects of the
kidnapping were turned around as a reason to free Edgardo and return him to his parents.

Kertzer continues to use this conflict as the main source for the submission of the church
in 1858. Also believing that the submission caused the press to increase their focus on the
kidnappings of illegally baptized Jewish children from their families. And that one of these
cases was the reason Napoleon III and his armies withdrew from the Papal States. 3 Which
finally allowed the Italian army to invade and set the lands free from the Popes rule. This chain
of events was facilitated by the fact that the entire Jewish community was completely in favor of
secularism. As mentioned before, at the time, Jews were oppressed and forced to live in the
ghettos of Italy. The push for a community where people were judged based on their actions and
not their religion was highly supported by the Jews. Having everyone against them, the church

1.
2.
3.

Grew, Raymond. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 68, No. 1, 2000.
Holmes, George. The Oxford Illustrated History of Italy, 1997
Reggies Blog. The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara, David Kertzer Last modified December 30 th 2010.
http://mediotutissimus.blogspot.com/2010/12/kidnapping-of-edgardo-mortara-david.html

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was very weak could not support its authority over the few remaining areas and subjects that still
believed in the old style of rule by the church.

Though the points that Kertzer makes can be argued logical and causative, I believe that
steps in which he takes to come to his conclusion are illogical. His argument in regards to the
entire investigation of Edgardos kidnapping could not be any more accurate. 1 The neutral
stance allows him to fully analyze Edgardos journey throughout his transformation into a
Christian. However, as he extends to realms further than that of the conflict between the church
and Edgardos parents, Kertzer begins to lose sight of the scope of his argument and become one
sided.1 Much more detail is put into describing the anti-Catholic side of the argument. As the
narrative is read through, there is a sense of victory from the side of the Jews. This excitement
of victory is what leads Kertzer to fall short in his argument and make large assumptions that
rush him to his incorrect conclusion. Though the end result, the fall of the church, is the same, it
is highly unbelievable that such small and specific events like the kidnappings of illegally
baptized Jewish children could have caused this. The questionable jump is where the press
coverage of a few of these kidnappings lead Napoleon the III to leave the Papal States.3 There
are many reasons for an army might leave a region of war for example; a shortage of supplies, an
overwhelming loss of soldiers, or negotiations with the enemy. News articles about children
seem high improbably to sway one of the most fearsome war lords of the century to pull his
armies away from a winning fight. The missing bridge between the kidnappings and armies are
not the only facets of the collapse that Kertzer over looks. The impact of internal conflict as well
as the state of the support of the church towards the Italian invasion was left undiscussed. Both

1.
2.
3.

Grew, Raymond. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 68, No. 1, 2000.
Holmes, George. The Oxford Illustrated History of Italy, 1997
Reggies Blog. The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara, David Kertzer Last modified December 30 th 2010.
http://mediotutissimus.blogspot.com/2010/12/kidnapping-of-edgardo-mortara-david.html

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were mentioned towards the beginning but were rarely touched on at the end. By overlooking
these factors, Kertzer mistakenly focuses his argument solely around Edgardos kidnapping.

In conclusion, I do not believe that Kertzer makes a valid argument because of his over
emphasis on the kidnapping of Edgardo. Even looking at a larger scale, the kidnappings of
Jewish children due to illegal baptisms was probably a small fraction of the reason why the
Catholic hierarchy fell. It was most likely the combination of increasing strength in the
revolutions, the disorganization of the church structure, and the weakening of support from
foreign military force and wealthy families like the Rothschilds. 1 These components combined
with the idea of empowerment to the people and having a country ruled under the basis of
personal decision and not religion, lead to the fall of the churchs power.

1.
2.
3.

Grew, Raymond. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 68, No. 1, 2000.
Holmes, George. The Oxford Illustrated History of Italy, 1997
Reggies Blog. The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara, David Kertzer Last modified December 30 th 2010.
http://mediotutissimus.blogspot.com/2010/12/kidnapping-of-edgardo-mortara-david.html