The priest has to be convinced the child will be brought up Catholic otherwise he can refuse to baptise the child.Will the Catholic Church baptize a baby in which only one parent is a member of the Church? What if the parents are considering the possibility of raising the child in the Protestant denomination someday? Does the Catholic Church expect parents to affirm they will raise a child Catholic if the child is baptized in a Catholic Church?
There was a time, prior to Vatican II, when all converts received “conditional Baptism” regardless of whether they had proof of baptism in a non-Catholic church. There are still some priests around today who continue with that practice, although they aren’t supposed to, any more.I have a question, and couldn’t find an exact thread where I think my particular question would fit it. My father was United Methodist and my mother was Catholic. I was baptized as an infant in the United Methodist Church. Here’s the thing: not too long after I had started attending a Catholic school when I was in third grade, and all students went to Mass (which is what made me want to convert, though I never remember having ever gone to Methodist services) every Thursday as the school was part of the church. I had decided on my own ( I’m so thankful that my parents, esp. my dad, the freedom to choose/decide), but after attending cathecism classes, and making the final decision to become Catholic, I had to be baptized. My Methodist grandmother considered Catholicism a cult, so I cannot imagine what was going on through her mind. I know that I was baptized as an infant in the Methodist church because I have a photocopy of my baptismal certificate, and considered a ‘provisional member’). What I don’t understand, and I never had the chance to ask anyone (anyone who would know is deceased) is why the Catholic Church, at least my own particular church, would not have accepted my infant baptism? Could it be that that was done at that time ( 70’s)? I’m really not complaining at all, because having to experience one’s own baptism ( I was 7 in 1974), was,and still is, awesome.
According to a canon lawyer who posts here, the Methodist ecclesial community’s Baptism is considered valid. Unless there was a specific doubt about yours you should not have been rebaptized.I have a question, and couldn’t find an exact thread where I think my particular question would fit it. My father was United Methodist and my mother was Catholic. I was baptized as an infant in the United Methodist Church. Here’s the thing: not too long after I had started attending a Catholic school when I was in third grade, and all students went to Mass (which is what made me want to convert, though I never remember having ever gone to Methodist services) every Thursday as the school was part of the church. I had decided on my own ( I’m so thankful that my parents, esp. my dad, the freedom to choose/decide), but after attending cathecism classes, and making the final decision to become Catholic, I had to be baptized. My Methodist grandmother considered Catholicism a cult, so I cannot imagine what was going on through her mind. I know that I was baptized as an infant in the Methodist church because I have a photocopy of my baptismal certificate, and considered a ‘provisional member’). What I don’t understand, and I never had the chance to ask anyone (anyone who would know is deceased) is why the Catholic Church, at least my own particular church, would not have accepted my infant baptism? Could it be that that was done at that time ( 70’s)? I’m really not complaining at all, because having to experience one’s own baptism ( I was 7 in 1974), was,and still is, awesome.
archbalt.org/evangelization/worship/rcia/upload/Validity-of-Baptisms-and-Confirmation.pdfAccording to a canon lawyer who posts here, the Methodist ecclesial community’s Baptism is considered valid. Unless there was a specific doubt about yours you should not have been rebaptized.
It might also have been a straight and simple exorcism. But as I mentioned earlier, there was a time in recent church history that Protestant baptisms were not fully acknowledged, and all converts, regardless of their paperwork, were conditionally baptized. Probably to avoid informing the Protestant pastor of the change in religious affiliation, as in those days it could have led to some serious unpleasantness.I looked up information of the Methodist Pastor who baptized me, and he was very well-known, and his reputation was impeccable, so I think I can rule out any issues there. Here’s the only other clue that I may have, and most of you will think that I am crazy, but that’s fine, but to those who believe, you may understand. I’ll be brief, or try to: Only recently before my Catholic baptism, my then best friend and schoolmate’s father was possessed and an exorcism was done. I have written about this situation (the possession and demonic assault) in a thread a couple years back. He and I were in the same house, and in the room next to where the exorcism was taking place, my friend and I were the victims of a full-fledged demonic assault, both physically and spiritually. One of the priests who conducted the exorcism was the priest who baptized me. I do remember clearly that it was a Baptism of the Extraordinary Rite, though I did not know the term at that time. He was the pastor of the school and church which my friend and I attended, and the priest knew me well, of course. I’m just throwing that out there. The only thing that I can think of, and it may be far out there, is that I was ‘rebaptized’ because baptism is also a form of minor exorcism. Not that they specualtion possession ( I hope not, lol!), but because of the significance of the sacrament? I’m sure, and hope that if I’m totally incorrect on this wild speculation, I will hope that any priest or knowledgable person will correct me.