In 1858, six-year-old Edgardo Mortara is forcibly removed from his family’s home in accordance with civil and canon law. His Jewish family’s legal appeal invokes, to great effect, the theology of St. Thomas Aquinas. Dr. Matthew Tapie and former Heights teacher Dr. Lionel Yaceczko join us this week to pull apart this difficult case with the assistance of St. Thomas, who gives a theological basis for parental authority in accordance with natural law—a useful perspective for our culture today.
Chapters:
00:04:06 The Mortara Case (1858)
00:11:12 The personality of an original document
00:15:23 The Mortaras’ appeal to Thomas Aquinas
00:17:13 Handling difficult history
00:21:36 Thomas Aquinas: natural law and parental duties
00:33:39 Parallel roles of educator, translator
00:39:07 Gradual handoff of parental authority to the child
00:46:06 Why the Mortara Case resurfaces today
Links:
The Mortara Case and Thomas Aquinas’s Defense of Jewish Parental Authority by Dr. Matthew Tapie
Dependent Rational Animals: Why Human Beings Need the Virtues by Alasdair MacIntyre
Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara movie (2023)
Also on the Forum:
The Importance of Ugly History by Mark Grannis
Featured opportunities:
Teaching Essentials Workshop at The Heights School (June 16-20, 2025)
Convivium for Teaching Men at The Heights School (November 13-15, 2025)