Rabbi Tovia Singer Exposes the Messyantic movement

[Israel Chai]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kF5l13HV-s&feature=youtu.be&a=

[edu]

http://www.aish.com/jw/s/The-Shocking-True-Story-behind-Spielbergs-Next-Film.html?s=fab

Even though it seems like something from Medieval times, this happened in modern times; Edgardo lived until 1940.
In the 1850s, Bologna was the second city of the Papal States, an area of central Italy ruled by the Pope. Although many Italians were pressing for change, the city remained under sway of Church leaders. Bologna’s small Jewish community of 200 faced intense anti-Semitism and kept a low profile. In order not to draw attention to themselves, they had neither a community rabbi nor a synagogue.
Momolo and Marianna Mortara lived in the center of the city and employed a series of local teenagers to help look after apartment and children. In 1853, the Mortaras’ housekeeper was 14 year old Anna Morisi. She’d moved into their home a few months after their son Edgardo was born. Morisi took a liking to the little Jewish baby: when Edgardo became ill at the age of one, the teenager told the local grocer that he was a handsome baby and she’d be sad to see him die. The grocer suggested that she baptize the child – maybe that would help cure him.
The young babysitter didn’t know how to baptize anyone, but she improvised, throwing a glass of water on him and saying some words that she soon forgot. “I figured that it wasn’t of any importance since I had done it without really knowing what I was doing,” she later recalled.
But years later, the babysitter casually mentioned to a friend what she’d done to a Jewish boy she’d once looked after. Word soon travelled to Church authorities, and the girl found herself summoned to the official Inquisitor and interrogated.
The reaction of the Church was swift. The night of Wednesday, June 23, 1858, Papal Police descended on the Mortaras’ apartment and demanded to see all their children. Terrified, the Mortaras woke up their sleeping kids. Soon, seven exhausted children were assembled before the police: twin 11-year-old girls Ernesta and Erminia, 10-year-old August, nine-year-old Arnoldo, six-year-old Edgardo, four-year-old Ercole, and baby Imelda.
“Your son Edgardo has been baptized,” the chief Papal policeman declared, “and I have been ordered to take him with me.”
Weeping, both of Edgardo’s parents fell to their knees before the officer, begging for his mercy. A Jewish neighbor rushed to see what the commotion was about. “I saw a distraught mother, bathed in tears, and a father who was tearing out his hair, while the children were down on their knees begging the policemen for mercy. It was a scene so moving I can’t begin to describe it.”
As the family’s screams echoed through the neighborhood, local Jewish residents and some members of the Papal guard went to the local Inquisitor to see if he would change his mind. After 24 grueling hours, the answer came: having been baptized, Edgardo Mortara was now a Christian, and as such could not possibly be left to be raised by Jews. The next day, June 24, 1858, the little boy was torn from his mother’s arms forever.
Edgardo was brought to Rome. His kidnapping was attracting much attention. Eager to deflect criticism, Church officials put out an official version of Edgardo’s journey: immediately after being removed from his parents, they declared, Edgardo became a devout Catholic, asking to stop in towns along the way so he could see their churches. In reality, Edgardo later recalled sobbing for his parents. (He was falsely told they’d be waiting for him in Rome.) When he asked for the mezuzah he normally wore on a chain around his neck, he was given a crucifix to wear instead.
In Rome, Edgardo was raised in the House of Catechumens, a home for new converts to Catholicism, including some Jews brought there against their will. In the mid-1800s, it was illegal for Jews to approach the building or communicate with those inside. One Jew was arrested for merely looking through a window. Edgardo’s parents journeyed to Rome and after many months of pleading they were able to see their son briefly. Edgardo told his mother that he continued to say the Shema prayer every night.
Pope Pius IX himself took a personal interest in Edgardo Mortara. Despite mounting international pressure against the kidnapping, the Pope regarded himself as Edgardo’s “new” father and refused to return the child, nor even have any contact again with his parents. By the time he was 13, after seven years of intense Catholic education, Edgardo took an additional name Pio, in honor of the Pope. When he came of age, turning 21 in 1873, Edgardo was ordained a Catholic priest.

What percentage of the Christian public today backs the moral code of Pope Pius IX?

[Zelhar]

I don't like him

[Israel Chai]

I don't like him

Why

What percentage of the Christian public today backs the moral code of Pope Pius IX?

As many as claim they love us more than anything ever.

[Zelhar]

He moved to Indonesia and he has made some apologetic videos defending Islam.

Why

[Tag-MehirTzedek]

He moved to Indonesia and he has made some apologetic videos defending Islam.

 I second that.

[Israel Chai]

Can't argue, and you haven't seen his facebook posts. He still does good work here, and no one can deny it.