It wasn't the first time a child had been kidnapped under similar conditions. After the Inquisition began in 1220, other Jewish children who had been "baptized" were also taken from their homes. But this time the politics were different. This time, the kidnapping occurred precisely when the Pope's power as temporal ruler in Italy was under fierce attack. This time there was an international press to report the story to the rest of the world.

While other European countries were moving away from autocratic rule, the Italian Papal States were still controlled by the absolute power of the Pope and the Catholic church. The Mortara case helped to push the Papal States out of existence.

During an earlier time, the power of the Inquisition was widely feared. People were encouraged to testify against their family and friends. The Church wanted to be sure there were no "heretics." Follow this link to a pencil drawing, created between 1249-1254, depicting a condemned "heretic" being burned at the stake. Torture and death were common occurrences during the centuries when the Inquisitors came to town. By 1858, however, only in the Italian Papal States could a Papal Inquisitor order the local police to do what would not be allowed under secular law.

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