Can a non-Catholic have her children baptized Catholic?

[BunnyR]

I am very new to this forum but I have a question or two I would dearly like answered. I am currently attending one of my local Catholic churches and I love it. I consider myself a wannabe Catholic, as I will never be able to take part in the Eucharist because I am divorced and remarried. I have tried to become a member of another local Catholic church but was told by the priest that I could not even take the adult initiation because of my first marriage, even though I was not baptized at the time and did not know God.

I have not gone to the priest of my new church as I do not wish to feel as “unwelcome” at Mass as I felt at the last church once Father found out my marital status. But I do have two toddlers at home that I would dearly love to see grow up Catholic, be baptized, and go to Catholic school. My three-year-old currently attends a Catholic preschool and it is linked to our local Catholic primary school. Can anyone tell me if this is possible or if they will just say they cannot be baptized if neither parent is formally Catholic? Any replies would be greatly appreciated as it is weighing heavily on my mind.

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

One of the requirements for the baptism of children is:

… that there be a well-founded hope that the child will be brought up in the Catholic religion. If such hope is truly lacking, the baptism is, in accordance with the provisions of particular law, to be deferred and the parents advised of the reason for this (canon 868 §1 2°, Code of Canon Law).

If neither parent is Catholic, and if the parents are either uninterested in conversion or unable to become Catholic for some reason, a baptismal minister might rightly question whether the parents can raise the children within the Catholic faith. It sounds like, in your case, you want to become Catholic but believe yourself to be impeded from becoming Catholic. I recommend talking to the pastor of your new parish and asking him if it is possible to get your marital status regularized. If so, then you could eventually become Catholic, and there should be no objection to having your children baptized while you are working on your marital status. Once your marital status is regularized, you can become Catholic yourself.

If the priest says no, then contact your diocese for further assistance. Sometimes it is not easy to become Catholic, and sometimes doing so requires great sacrifice, but it is always possible. If you want it badly enough and are willing to make whatever sacrifices are required to do so, you can become a Catholic. God bless.