Abortion and babtism

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Vanessa

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A friend told me that she researched this area very carefully and if a mother aborts her child the child is in Limbo until the mother changes her heart and wishes a baptism for the child. Then the child may proceed to Heaven.

I understand that Limbo is theorhetical and no one is quite sure if it exists or how it works. I also find it hard to believe that someone else could control a soul’s entry into Heaven after death. I realize there is praying for the dead, and forgiveness of those already dead is a prayer for that soul. But I don’t think one can baptise someone who’s been dead. Perhaps baptism of desire fits in here somewhere, but doesn’t the person themself have to desire baptism? Or can a parent choose for the child?

Thanks for any info.
Vanessa
 
I have heard nothing from the Church about any limbo…when you die you go one of three places, Heaven Purgatory or Hell. A child who is aborted has done nothing wrong, so is taken striaght to heaven.
 
Baptism is only done for the living. Only God can decide if an unborn child will be in Purgatory or not. I personaly think that God takes all children to heaven and can wash away original sin himself if he so prefers. But to assume I am positive he does would be incorrect. I am however positive that the Father is a God of love and mercy.

-D
 
The Catholic church’s stance is that since the baby wasn’t baptised, there is no way of us saying that the baby definitely went to heaven. Nothing has been revealed to us regarding that.

But, we can speculate, because it would be hard to believe that the God we know would hold the sins of the parents against the child or not allow the child into heaven because he/she happened to die before baptism.

It might be a reach, but neither Moses nor Abraham were baptised and they went to heaven.

My 2 cents is that babies go to heaven, even if they haven’t been baptised yet.
 
Now that I think about it, I woud say that babies go to heaven up untill they reach the age of reason (7) even if they are unbaptised. Thats just my opinion though.
 
Tyler Smedley:
Now that I think about it, I woud say that babies go to heaven up untill they reach the age of reason (7) even if they are unbaptised. Thats just my opinion though.
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Your opinion might change when you have a child reach the terrible 2s.

😛

(I’m joking here)
 
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Vanessa:
A friend told me that she researched this area very carefully and if a mother aborts her child the child is in Limbo until the mother changes her heart and wishes a baptism for the child. Then the child may proceed to Heaven.

I understand that Limbo is theorhetical and no one is quite sure if it exists or how it works. I also find it hard to believe that someone else could control a soul’s entry into Heaven after death. I realize there is praying for the dead, and forgiveness of those already dead is a prayer for that soul. But I don’t think one can baptise someone who’s been dead. Perhaps baptism of desire fits in here somewhere, but doesn’t the person themself have to desire baptism? Or can a parent choose for the child?

Thanks for any info.
Vanessa
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Previous posters have done a good job on covering Catholic beliefs.

Have you asked your friend to identify her sources? Since she is obviously way off base on this one, I would always verify any information she provides in the future.
 
There is no church doctrine on Limbo at all. Common belief during the 50-60’s were that unbaptized babies that die go to Limbo, a place of natural happiness. But it is not ever taught now. Instead when we do baptism prep, we teach our families, that babies who die without the grace of baptism, are held in the mercy of God. Who we believe, will welcome the little ones, just like the children of his time, with warmth and love. “Let the little ones come to me!”
 
For a valid baptism, water must be poured over or immersed in water as a priest/deacon/or in case of emergency anyone says the Trinitarian formula…I baptize you in the Name of the Father, I baptize you in the name of the Son, and I baptize you in the Name of the Holy Spirit. If a baby is in utero, that babys is not accessible for the minister to do a baptism…Yes, whenever one cell begins to divide, that child is a live…but we still must wait until he is born to be baptized. Peace!
 
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caroljm36:
er, but I thought we agreed that the baby *was *living at the time of the abortion? :confused:
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The baby is living at the time of the abortion. My point is that we dont baptise people before they are born.

-D
 
You can in some circumstances baptize a person before he or she is born.
 
I don’t think people have commented on what is to me the key point that you refer to–the mother deciding if the deceased receives a baptism by desire. That is incorrect. Another person does not have such control over another’s destiny; that is against the Catholic Church teaching (I don’t know if your friend is Catholic, though). There may be a bizzare baptist branch that teaches this, but definately not Catholicism.

The following is my opinion, and my opinion only–it it not Church teaching, but I think that it is acceptable under Church teaching. I believe that when someone dies (an aborted fetus, for instance), they go in front of St. Peter. They are shown the entirely of the Truth, and given the choice to accept or reject the Truth. If you accept, you’re in Heaven or Purgatory (depending on how you lived your life in accordance to the Truth, and if you rejected the Truth (Catholicism) during your time on earth, etc.), if you reject, you’re in Hell. As we trust in God’s mercy that even Hitler can go to Heaven, and as we know that it is our decision to accept or deny God, this is how I wrap my head around it all.
 
"Jesus, however, called the children to himself and said, “Let the children come to me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” (Luke 18:16).

This gives me the impression that Jesus would want the little ones killed in the womb to come straight to him without obstacle.
 
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