096-The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara

On June 23, 1858, the Catholic Church removed 6-year-old Edgardo Mortara from his family in Bologna. The reason they gave was surprising: The Mortaras were Jewish, and Edgardo had been secretly baptized. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll tell the story of little Edgardo and learn how his family's plight shaped the course of Italian history.

We'll also hear Ben Franklin's musings on cultural bigotry and puzzle over an unexpected soccer riot.

Please consider becoming a patron of Futility Closet -- on our Patreon page you can pledge any amount per episode, and all contributions are greatly appreciated. You can change or cancel your pledge at any time, and we've set up some rewards to help thank you for your support.

You can also make a one-time donation via the Donate button in the sidebar of the Futility Closet website.

Sources for our feature on Edgardo Mortara:

David I. Kertzer, The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara, 1997.

Bruce A. Boyer and Steven Lubet, "The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara: Contemporary Lessons in the Child Welfare Wars," Villanova Law Review 45 (2000), 245.

Steven Lubet, "Judicial Kidnapping, Then and Now: The Case of Edgardo Mortara," Northwestern University Law Review 93:3 (Spring 1999), 961.

Donald L. Kinzer, "Review: The American Reaction to the Mortara Case, 1858-1859," Mississippi Valley Historical Review 44:4 (March 1958), 740-741.

Alexander Stille, "How a Jewish Boy's Baptism Changed the Shape of Italy: The Notorious Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara," Forward, Aug. 1, 1997.

"Pope John Paul Faces Politics of Sainthood," Associated Press, Sept. 2, 2000.

Ellen Knickmeyer, "Pope Moves Two Toward Sainthood," Spartanburg [S.C.] Herald-Journal, Sept. 4, 2000.

Garry Wills, "The Vatican Monarchy," New York Review of Books, Feb. 19, 1998.

Garry Wills, "Popes Making Popes Saints," New York Review of Books, July 9, 2013.

Justin Kroll, "Steven Spielberg Boards Religious Drama ‘Edgardo Mortara’," Variety, April 17, 2014.

Ben Franklin's "Remarks Concerning the Savages of North-America" was published in 1784 by Franklin's Passy Press in France.

This week's lateral thinking puzzle was contributed by listener Tommy Honton, who sent these corroborating links (warning: these spoil the puzzle).

You can listen using the player above, download this episode directly, or subscribe on iTunes or via the RSS feed at http://feedpress.me/futilitycloset.

Many thanks to Doug Ross for the music in this episode.

If you have any questions or comments you can reach us at podcast@futilitycloset.com. Thanks for listening!