Baptism Without RCIA

[LiamQ]

If a Priest so chooses, is he generally free in the US to Baptize an adult non-Christian at his own discretion, without RCIA? Say, for example, the following dialogue occurs:

“Father, I requested this meeting with you because I’d like to become a Catholic. I want to be Baptized.”

“Oh? What do you know already?”

“I know that Jesus Christ died for my sins, and I want to be Baptized so that I can become a Christian.”

“OK. Whenever you’re ready, I’d be happy to Baptize you.”

Is this sort of thing generally acceptable these days? Is a Priest free to do such a thing without bothering with months and months of instruction beforehand?

If he is free to do this, why isn’t it more common?

 

[MT1926]

If a Priest so chooses, is he generally free in the US to Baptize an adult non-Christian at his own discretion, without RCIA? Say, for example, the following dialogue occurs:

“Father, I requested this meeting with you because I’d like to become a Catholic. I want to be Baptized.”

“Oh? What do you know already?”

“I know that Jesus Christ died for my sins, and I want to be Baptized so that I can become a Christian.”

“OK. Whenever you’re ready, I’d be happy to Baptize you.”

Is this sort of thing generally acceptable these days? Is a Priest free to do such a thing without bothering with months and months of instruction beforehand?

If he is free to do this, why isn’t it more common?

I am sure there are others on here more knowledgeable than I, but I always understood Baptism to mean being Baptized into the Catholic Faith. Not just Baptizing someone a Christian. So when we are Baptized as adults we have to be able to say I believe…

If we look at the Catechism
167 I believe (Apostles’ Creed) is the faith of the Church professed personally by each believer, principally during Baptism. We believe (Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed) is the faith of the Church confessed by the bishops assembled in council or more generally by the liturgical assembly of believers. I believe is also the Church, our mother, responding to God by faith as she teaches us to say both I believe and We believe.

168 It is the Church that believes first, and so bears, nourishes, and sustains my faith. Everywhere, it is the Church that first confesses the Lord: “Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you.” as we sing in the hymn “Te Deum”; with her and in her, we are won over and brought to confess: “I believe,” “We believe.” It is through the Church that we receive faith and new life in Christ by Baptism. In the Rituale Romanum, the minister of Baptism asks the catechumen: “What do you ask of God’s Church?”And the answer is: “Faith.” “What does faith offer you?” “Eternal life.”54

This would be the fullness of the Faith, not just an outward sign that I am now a Christian.

The reason why the Church takes Baptism so seriously is in this paragraph.

III. Only One Faith
172 Through the centuries, in so many languages, cultures, peoples, and nations, the Church has constantly confessed this one faith, received from the one Lord, transmitted by one Baptism, and grounded in the conviction that all people have only one God and Father.58 S

Ephesians 4:5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

That being said, from my understanding if the gentleman said he wants to be Catholic so at that point he has already been Baptized with the “Baptism of Desire”. So if something where to happen to him while he goes through RCIA, then God knows his heart and if he did not change his desire to be Baptized. Also, if the same man was on his death bed and wanted Baptism, I understand that anyone would be able to Baptize him using proper form and matter.

Just my 2 cents.

Others might have better answers.

God Bless

 

[Oneofthewomen]

My instincts tell me no, this is not possible, except in a case where death may be imminent and there is no time to follow the correct rites.
That said, I imagine those cases to be far & few between. The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults exists for a reason, so to circumvent it seems counter-productive.

On the other hand, RCIA programs often are filled with non-Catholic, baptized Christians who want to convert or reverts who were Baptized and never fully initiated. This is not what RCIA is for, and where a priest has much more discretion in how he proceeds to bring someone into full communion.

If a Priest so chooses, is he generally free in the US to Baptize an adult non-Christian at his own discretion, without RCIA? Say, for example, the following dialogue occurs:

“Father, I requested this meeting with you because I’d like to become a Catholic. I want to be Baptized.”

“Oh? What do you know already?”

“I know that Jesus Christ died for my sins, and I want to be Baptized so that I can become a Christian.”

“OK. Whenever you’re ready, I’d be happy to Baptize you.”

Is this sort of thing generally acceptable these days? Is a Priest free to do such a thing without bothering with months and months of instruction beforehand?

If he is free to do this, why isn’t it more common?

 

[Joe_5859]

If a Priest so chooses, is he generally free in the US to Baptize an adult non-Christian at his own discretion, without RCIA? Say, for example, the following dialogue occurs:

“Father, I requested this meeting with you because I’d like to become a Catholic. I want to be Baptized.”

“Oh? What do you know already?”

“I know that Jesus Christ died for my sins, and I want to be Baptized so that I can become a Christian.”

“OK. Whenever you’re ready, I’d be happy to Baptize you.”

Is this sort of thing generally acceptable these days? Is a Priest free to do such a thing without bothering with months and months of instruction beforehand?

If he is free to do this, why isn’t it more common?

It’s not more common because formation is valuable, not just a hoop the Church makes people jump through (see canon 865).

Though a priest can do this, there is still a process. To baptize an adult, the priest needs permission from the bishop (see canon 863).

I can’t think of any priest who would be okay with baptizing someone after a 30 second conversation (unless, of course, the person is in danger of death). It’s his responsibility to see to it that the catechumen are properly prepared. Does this have to happen through RCIA? No. But it’s still not going to happen in an instant.

 

[mikeghiorso]

I agree the process is critical to becoming a Catholic (except when in danger of death). And, even then, should the person recover his/her health, instructions should occur. In our parish, we had an elderly gentleman who was seriously ill. He requested Baptism and our Pastor baptized him. When the man recovered, he asked to receive communion and the Pastor sent me to prepare him for his First Communion. The man was more than ready and understood a great deal about the Catholic faith. But he was still recovering from his illness, so he received the Sacrament at his house. I talked with him and told him that if he continued to do so well, he should be confirmed. Sure enough, he completely recovered, attended classes and was confirmed by our Archbishop. He attends Mass weekly (sometimes daily). What a tribute to the process.

 

[Casilda]

I agree the process is critical to becoming a Catholic (except when in danger of death). And, even then, should the person recover his/her health, instructions should occur. In our parish, we had an elderly gentleman who was seriously ill. He requested Baptism and our Pastor baptized him. When the man recovered, he asked to receive communion and the Pastor sent me to prepare him for his First Communion. The man was more than ready and understood a great deal about the Catholic faith. But he was still recovering from his illness, so he received the Sacrament at his house. I talked with him and told him that if he continued to do so well, he should be confirmed. Sure enough, he completely recovered, attended classes and was confirmed by our Archbishop. He attends Mass weekly (sometimes daily). What a tribute to the process.

What a wonderful story, thank you for sharing. Makes me hopeful that there are merciful priests out there. How rcia is implemented and carried out in the local diocese here is terrible.

 

[LiamQ]

Thank you for your responses. I’ll possibly take this up with my Pastor at some point. I’m sure a lot of this depends on how the Bishop permits his Priests to do things.

A reason I asked is because I wonder what, exactly, the RCIA process really did for me. I don’t think I learned anything, and I’m not so sure I even remember much from it aside from visiting the Bishop or working in groups. And my RCIA, incidentally, was run by a Dominican Friar who was simply wonderful and led a theologically and philosophically rich set of talks.

Another reason I asked is because I know of a Priest who does things like this. And before he’s accused of being a left-wing radical, he actually once got Cardinal Ratzinger involved in having his own Bishop corrected with regard to a particular matter. I very, very strongly doubt he would do something like this if he wasn’t allowed to.

Anyway, thanks for your responses.

 

[pianistclare]

Good luck finding a priest who will. We have to find out of parents show a reasonable desire and probability or seeing to the children’s formation.
Unless under threat of death, most priests would want to catechize the person himself if RCIA is not an option.

 

[LiamQ]

… not just a hoop the Church makes people jump through …

That’s exactly what it is for folks who happen to have awful RCIA programs at their local parishes. And by “awful” I mean more interested in proclaiming a progressive agenda than in teaching what the Church teaches. That’s exactly what it was for me: it was not only a hoop but a bit of a chore. By the time I had finally decided to go through RCIA, I was looking into things, off and on, for some ten years. I didn’t need more information. I needed Baptism.

For me, there’s a disconnect between the idea that I can have a five-day-old Baptized and instructed later, but yet I have to force an adult to sit through nine months of instruction. It seems much more sensible to permit this sort of thing to be at a Priest’s discretion. And if he believes that a particular person knows enough—my example dialogue is obviously an extremely condensed hypothetical conversation—then what’s the problem here?

If the Church says there’s a problem then there’s a problem. But only because the Church says so in Her law, and not because the idea is ridiculously stupid or something.

Preparation for Christian life is one thing. Basically asking someone to go through a cookie cutter program without properly discerning their needs, their readiness, or the tremendously important gift of grace that Baptism leads to? Hm.

Anyway, I only ask because I’m curious. I don’t regret RCIA or anything like that.

 

[Casilda]

Preparation for Christian life is one thing. Basically asking someone to go through a cookie cutter program without properly discerning their needs, their readiness, or the tremendously important gift of grace that Baptism leads to? .

Exactly. Sadly, it took years of searching for a godly priest to talk to. We even had to abandon Roman Catholicism for an Eastern-rite.

 

[Phemie]

Good luck finding a priest who will. We have to find out of parents show a reasonable desire and probability or seeing to the children’s formation.
Unless under threat of death, most priests would want to catechize the person himself if RCIA is not an option.

There are definitely priests who will.

I was contacted by a woman in November wanting to have her grandchildren (canonical infants) her step-granddaughter (canonically an adult) and her daughter-in-law baptized. She was already angry and shouted, “If the Catholic Church won’t baptize them, I’ll take them to the Anglican Church.” I bit my tongue not to say “Fill your boots!” I didn’t even know who she was and she kept repeating a name, “Billy”. Figured he was the father and from some of the things she was saying I figured out that he was coming home for Christmas.

They weren’t from our parish, diocese or, even from our province, but it’s not rare for parents to bring their children “home” for Baptism so I explained that Fr. could probably baptize the youngest two members of the family but that the parents would need to do preparation in their parish and bring a letter from the Pastor confirming that that had been done and giving his permission for another priest to baptize two of his flock. Tried to explain that adults need extensive preparation. She said she’d let them know. I still didn’t really know who she was.

About two weeks later I receive a call from “Billy.” Turns out he’s the uncle, a practicing Catholic, and is the only one who really gives a hoot about Baptism and the Catholic Church and the plan is that he’ll be godfather to all 4. They already have an appointment at the Anglican Church to be baptized and he’s apoplectic at the thought. He confirms that they don’t go to church, the couple is civilly married. Step-daughter is 10.

I explain RCIA and he seems to understand. I refer him back to Fr.

To make an already long story short, they came home at Christmas and Father baptized them all. No confirmation for the two canonical adults. No record of anything about the wife except her name in the register with the date of her baptism.

 

[pianistclare]

There are definitely priests who will.

I was contacted by a woman in November wanting to have her grandchildren (canonical infants) her step-granddaughter (canonically an adult) and her daughter-in-law baptized. She was already angry and shouted, “If the Catholic Church won’t baptize them, I’ll take them to the Anglican Church.” I bit my tongue not to say “Fill your boots!” I didn’t even know who she was and she kept repeating a name, “Billy”. Figured he was the father and from some of the things she was saying I figured out that he was coming home for Christmas.

They weren’t from our parish, diocese or, even from our province, but it’s not rare for parents to bring their children “home” for Baptism so I explained that Fr. could probably baptize the youngest two members of the family but that the parents would need to do preparation in their parish and bring a letter from the Pastor confirming that that had been done and giving his permission for another priest to baptize two of his flock. Tried to explain that adults need extensive preparation. She said she’d let them know. I still didn’t really know who she was.

About two weeks later I receive a call from “Billy.” Turns out he’s the uncle, a practicing Catholic, and is the only one who really gives a hoot about Baptism and the Catholic Church and the plan is that he’ll be godfather to all 4. They already have an appointment at the Anglican Church to be baptized and he’s apoplectic at the thought. He confirms that they don’t go to church, the couple is civilly married. Step-daughter is 10.

I explain RCIA and he seems to understand. I refer him back to Fr.

To make an already long story short, they came home at Christmas and Father baptized them all. No confirmation for the two canonical adults. No record of anything about the wife except her name in the register with the date of her baptism.

Funny. This very thing happened today in the parish.
Father had no problem telling them no.

 

[InThePew]

Good luck finding a priest who will. We have to find out of parents show a reasonable desire and probability or seeing to the children’s formation.
Unless under threat of death, most priests would want to catechize the person himself if RCIA is not an option.

There’s a difference though between by-passing RCIA and basically on the spot baptism. Two examples: a friend of mine was baptised about 15 years ago; he was raised a baptist but had basically read his way into the Church and attended mass regularly (albeit without receiving communion). He started doing RCIA in his parish but found it to be way too basic compared to what he already knew. So the chaplain at the university where he worked simply short cutted the process and arranged for him to be baptised there.

The second example was a woman who regularly attended mass with her 10 year old daughter although neither of them was baptised (the mother thought she might have been but had no record). Since she was a single mother, attending evening classes for RCIA wasn’t possible so the priest simply gave them one on one instruction and baptised & confirmed them both.

RCIA and baptism preparation programs obviously exist for a reason but it’s important not to create a rule where one doesn’t exist! There’s not strict requirement for participation in such a program even though it may be prish policy. Certainly, such a policy should be followed in most cases but that doesn’t mean it should be followed in all cases - in all things charity!

 

[Marie5890]

Generally speaking, no, one is not normally baptized without some form of formation. This is true all the way back to the early Church.

One of the reasons a person has a sponsor is that the sponsor is a witness to the fact that this person is ready to make the baptismal promises and ready to become part of the community. And when I say “community” I don’t just mean the Church as a whole, but the actual community of the parish.

Becoming Catholic isn’t just about our relationship with Christ, it’s also about our relationship with the Body of Christ (the Church)

True, many RCIA programs are better than others. This was true in my case as well. But going thru RCIA is the norm and going thru it shows obedience.

Are there those who go thru private instruction? Yes, Bishop Sheen was known to do this with those he worked with. But again, they still went thru some form of formation. He just didn’t baptize them first and then teach them later.

One is supposed to cite the Creed as a statement of belief prior to baptism. Which mean one needs to understand the Creed.

 

[InThePew]

Are there those who go thru private instruction? Yes, Bishop Sheen was known to do this with those he worked with. But again, they still went thru some form of formation. He just didn’t baptize them first and then teach them later.

That’s probably because there was no such thing as RCIA for all but the last few years of his life…

 

[Marie5890]

Here is a good run down of the history of coming into communion with the Body of Christ

holyspiritcatholic.com/history-of-rcia