Controversial Baptisms of Jews
In 1858, Edgardo Mortara, then six years old, was taken from his Jewish parents by the police of the Papal States. He had reportedly been baptized by a Roman Catholic servant girl of the family while he was ill, because she feared that otherwise he would not be saved if he died.
The Jewish orphans controversy is a legal dispute that occurred after the Second World War when the Holy See under Pope Pius XII issued instructions that Catholic institutions and families should keep baptized Jewish children in their ranks after they had been rescued from a likely deportation to Auschwitz.
Read more about this topic: Emergency Baptism
Famous quotes containing the words baptisms and/or jews:
“All mothers need instruction, nurturing, and an understanding mentor after the birth of a baby, but in this age of fast foods, fast tracks, and fast lanes, it doesn’t always happen. While we live in a society that provides recognition for just about every life event—from baptisms to bar mitzvahs, from wedding vows to funeral rites—the entry into parenting seems to be a solo flight, with nothing and no one to mark formally the new mom’s entry into motherhood.”
—Sally Placksin (20th century)
“Seventy-five million Jews deported or murdered, that’s cleansing. I admire such thoroughness, such methodical patience! When one has no character, one must have a method.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)