Can I baptize my non-Catholic friend's baby?

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walkingtochimayo

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I have been asked an unusual request by some non-Catholic friends. They would like me to baptize their baby boy. My wish would be that they seek out ordinary means through the church, but my fear is that they would seek out another extraordinary means and that they would not follow the matter and form necessary for a valid baptism. Is my fear enough to be called exigencies of necessity?

Thank you for any (name removed by moderator)ut.
 
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Why would they want their baby baptized Catholic if they are not Catholic? I dont think it can be done.
 
I think they see me as a devout Catholic and are attracted to the faith. They are also non-Catholics.
 
I don’t think you should.

Assuming you are a Catholic, if you baptize the baby, the baby would be not just a baptized Christian, but a baptized Catholic.

The baby would be subject to canon law, etc.

So if your friends are not Catholic (and assuming you are) let them know that you cannot do it because then their child would be a Baptized Catholic.

TALK TO YOU PRIEST ABOUT THIS. 🙂

God Bless
 
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Then they should take RCIA and convert and then baptize their child. A priest needs to know the parents are faithful Catholics to baptize their child.
 
Furthermore, it would be better for the child to be Baptized Protestant than to be a Baptized Catholic who doesn’t follow the Catholic Faith & Canon Law.
 
There’s no point then. You’d be placing the kid under an obligation that he can’t realistically fulfill.
 
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I was able to speak to my priest. Though in rare cases it is a necessity, he stated that within this context it would be nefarious to baptize without the context of true christian community even with the best of intentions. I will encourage them to seek a community in which they can baptize their child and receive further formation (I will invite them to my parish as well).

Thank you for the responses!!!
 
Your priest gave the correct answer, God bless him! We, as laity, should only baptize in case of a grave emergency, things like war, being on a sinking ship or a doomed aircraft, or the child was gravely injured and is unlikely to survive after a traffic or some other accident.

For non urgent cases, the correct response is to pray for the conversion of the parents and the eventual baptism of the child, remembering that God works on His own timetable, not ours. He will call them when good and ready even if it’s not before the hour of death.
 
Another example would be a baby who is born alive and is unlikely to survive long after birth. In fact, in my area the hospitals that offer obstetrical services (even the secular hospital) have policies surrounding infant Baptism by a staff member if the parents request it. The diocese has forms and policies regarding in which parish the Baptism should be registered based on the hospital where the baby was baptized.

But you’re quite correct. Outside of danger of death, a Baptism by a lay person would be valid but illicit and would not be appropriate.
 
walkingtochimayo said:
I have been asked an unusual request by some non-Catholic friends. They would like me to baptize their baby boy.
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Why are they asking you’? No you shouldn’t baptize this baby, it just isn’t proper unless the child were dying and no priest was available.

If they have someone else do the deed, that’s their business.

I just don’t understand the whole thing here, as Mennonites don’t baptize infants.
 
I heard of an incident many years ago. the parents were Lutheran. They handed their child over to the godparents and asked them to have the child baptized. For some reason the Lutheran church was closed and their minister was unavailable to baptize the child. They then took it to the Catholic church and asked for the priest to baptize it. I never heard what the outcome was. I think this was over 50 years ago.
 
walkingtochimayo said:
I have been asked an unusual request by some non-Catholic friends. They would like me to baptize their baby boy. My wish would be that they seek out ordinary means through the church, but my fear is that they would seek out another extraordinary means and that they would not follow the matter and form necessary for a valid baptism. Is my fear enough to be called exigencies of necessity?

Thank you for any (name removed by moderator)ut.
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It is not permitted unless the child is in danger of death.
 
Of course you can, that doesn’t mean you should. Ask them why they don’t ask a clergyman to do it. (Some Protestant denominations do baptise infants, as do the Orthodox).
 
I know that one of our priests, who happened to be in a remote community to celebrate a wedding, baptized the child of Anglican parents there at the request of their own minister when she was was unable to get to the community due to a storm. He offered to do it with the rite that’s in the Book of Common Prayer, but she told him just to use the Catholic Rite.

I wonder if anyone involved foresaw potential problems with this?
 
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