Why is Google hiding the posts on this website in its search results? It should be clear by now that the baptism of such an infant is valid—but is it licit? To be very clear: in cases where there is danger of imminent death, anyone can baptize. The logical choice would therefore be to baptize the child in the parish where the baby and his mother reside. This means that in general, if both parents do not want their child baptized, it is not lawful for, let’s say, a grandmother or babysitter to baptize … Has anyone had their baby baptised before leaving hospital? Who Can Baptize? The Papal States were definitively conquered and forcibly annexed to the new nation of Italy only a few years later. William J. Little babies cannot do any of these things. Sometimes a baby will recover, in which case the parish priest will perform additional rites surrounding the sacrament of baptism, as it is not possible to be baptized twice. As has been noted in previous columns (such as “Inclusive Language and Baptismal Validity” and “Sacraments and Personal Identity,” among others), of all the sacraments, baptism is the easiest one to administer validly. The Church’s principal theological concern is that if a child is to be baptized, there has to be a realistic hope that the child will be brought up in the Catholic religion, as per canon 868.1 n.2. The next column–to be published a week from today, hopefully–will address issues pertaining to the upcoming conclave. opposed to the notion that their child might be baptized in a Catholic hospital, the hospital staff can honor their wishes, even if the child is at death’s door. As was discussed in “Can All Priests Always Hear Confessions?” when someone is dying, he can confess his sins to any priest—including one who has been laicized and no longer functions as a priest, or even a priest who is excommunicated or suspended (c. 976)! Rico. For an infant to be baptized licitly in a non-emergency situation, at least one of the parents (or a legal guardian) must give consent (c. 868.1 n. 1). If Christ’s intention was for parents to baptize their babies, then parents who refuse to do so deprive their child of grace freely offered. Please check the Archives first–it’s likely your question was already addressed. If church officers superintend the process–and surely they must if baptism is to be anything other than a private ceremony of personal dedication–it stands to reason that they exercise their Christ-given authority in … Put differently, in a normal situation, the bishop, priest, or deacon is the one who baptizes both validly, and licitly. But from the sound of things, it doesn’t seem that the baby ever visits his father’s home, so baptizing him at his father’s parish church is presumably impossible. At the same time, however, note that a Catholic faced with this scenario is not required to baptize the baby—so failing to do so is not a violation of canon law. Canonically, this sort of scenario is quite a different matter! First, it is obvious that a person who baptizes someone else should be a Christian. Canon 868.1 n. 1 states clearly that for an infant to be baptized licitly, at least one of the parents must give consent. A baby can’t believe and be baptized. Inclusive Language and Baptismal Validity, Marriage Between a Catholic and a Non-Catholic. In the past Cathy has published articles both in scholarly journals and on various popular Catholic websites, including Real Presence Communications and Catholic Exchange. (Note for the record that the mother doesn’t appear to intend to raise the child in a different religion, either.). Refusing First Holy Communion to Children Who Are Ill-Prepared, Ecclesia Supplet: Making Invalid Sacraments Valid. Re-post: Can We Receive Holy Communion Twice on Christmas Day? Re-post: Confession and General Absolution. Persons who lived in the Papal States, but were not Catholic, were therefore in violation of civil law! The staff is permitted by the law to perform an emergency baptism in danger of death, thus ensuring that the child enters eternity as a child of God. In other words, lay persons have the power to administer the sacrament of baptism, but they should not be doing so willy-nilly on their own, without the involvement—or at least the knowledge—of the local clergy. But, as I stated at the beginning of this article, there’s nothing in the Scripture that states that they alone can baptize. Can I Baptize Myself? Or at the opposite extreme, should a Catholic be legally required to baptize a dying child if possible, even if the parents were opposed to it? Liz’s son could conceivably talk with the pastor of that parish, apprise him of the situation (which the pastor should want to know about anyway, since these children are Catholics and live in the territory of his parish), and ask him to baptize the baby. One the one hand, it is argued that baby baptism was pushed forward by the Roman Catholic Church under the statement that babies are born in sin. It’s no surprise that the Mortara family was devastated. None of the content of this website may be reproduced, either in whole or in part, without the advance written permission of the author. Many parish priests have dealt with difficult sacramental situations that have arisen because a baptism either was never registered properly in the parish where it took place, or that parish’s register is lost or otherwise inaccessible (maybe the parish records were destroyed in a fire, or the person is a refugee and his parish records are located in a currently war-torn area). All rights reserved. –Greg. Liz’s son should not baptize his child on his own, without at the very least first conferring with the parish priest about the situation. If you´re baptize and you understand what the baptize means and if you have some whose life is in danger and asks you for the baptize (or if this person is a child) you can baptize him. Question to O. This belief is founded by the idea that the original sin from Adam and Eve is inherited. At the other end of the spectrum, adults who are dying can also be baptized if … canonlawmadeeasy@yahoo.com Click here for more information. Just after she gave birth to the third, my daughter-in-law snapped and ran out on my son, taking the children with her and moving to [a city over a thousand miles away]. Inclusive Language and Baptismal Validity. Answer: There is nothing in the Bible that states who can and cannot baptize someone. Apart from the obvious pastoral issues at play here, by law a baptism is required to be recorded in the parish register (c. 877.1). Obviously that base is covered in this case. As your child grows older and continues to grow in the faith, he can look back at his baptism as the beginning of his journey of faith. If it truly is necessary for Liz’s son to baptize the baby himself, the pastor of the parish in which the site of the baptism is territorially located needs to know about it, and record it in the parish’s baptismal register. If you have a young child, you can see how impossible it is for a baby … Invariably, as Grudem points out, the pastor(s) of the church are likely involved in determining who can be baptized and who can baptize. While it does not offer specific rules, there are some guidelines that can be helpful. In a normal, non-emergency situation, the person administering the sacrament of baptism is expected to be a cleric: canon 861.1 notes that the ordinary minister of this sacrament is a bishop, priest or deacon. That’s why canon 861.2 states clearly that in case of necessity, any person with the requisite intention can perform a baptism, not just validly, but also licitly. Can a Baby be Baptized Against the Parents’ Wishes? That’s it. This is because the parents of an infant have the right and responsibility to make decisions for the child, who obviously is too young to decide anything for himself (cf. How Can You Tell a Real Law from an Illegal Decree? Does the Bible provide any details regarding who can perform a baptism? If you're absolutely adamant that baptism by you is the only way your baby will ever be baptised, then you should do it. Today Bologna is in Italy; but at the time of Edgardo’s birth it was located within the Papal States, governed by the Pope, who was their secular ruler. Reason #2 – Commit to Raising Your Child in the Faith. The Trinitarian formula is: 868 §1]. When the child is older, sometimes (though not always!) 3 months ago. In summary, the Church certainly desires that an infant be baptized. She identifies herself as a Lutheran; but as it turns out, she was never Baptized and thus never became a member of the Church.? Is there any problem with him doing this? To baptize them anyway would be to … Can I baptize myself in … The reasons for this are theological: the Church teaches that baptism is necessary for salvation, and is the gateway to the other sacraments (c. 849). There are extreme cases, however, when even an unbaptized person can baptize someone. So, then we could conclude that a Christian father can baptize his son or daughter. A.: I’m shy in crowds and I don’t attend a church anywhere. If someone were to baptize a person who has reached the age of reason, and has indicated that he does not want to be baptized—doing so perhaps while he was sleeping, and thus couldn’t object—the baptism is valid (assuming it was done correctly), but it is illicit. Unlike the other sacraments, a baptism can be performed by anyone, cleric or not. Nowadays, of course, such an action would be unthinkable, as a violation of the rights of the parents to raise their own child, and also of the child’s right to be raised by his own family. After fighting a legal battle, she got a divorce and custody of the kids, whom my son is required to support. But Edgardo unexpectedly recovered, and word of his secret baptism somehow reached the Church’s authorities. Now, we all know that situations arise when (let’s say) a newborn infant has such grave health problems that his death appears imminent, or a child who has not yet been baptized falls so seriously ill that it is reasonably feared that he might die. Re-post: Confession and General Absolution. Q: My son was married to a non-Catholic girl for 7 years, and they have three boys. (A similar issue, regarding different sacraments, was discussed back in “Homeschooling and Catechetics.”) Anyone looking for a real-life example of the tremendously problematic implications of such activity need only look at the case of Edgardo Mortara. The dying person needs to be baptized licitly even against the parents ’ parish, by the Pastor or Catholic! If they intend to do what the Church does and use the Baptismal... Mother reside in other words, maybe you technically can do something, but jesus repentance... Of this in mind, let ’ s no surprise that the baptism is by. 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