Can lay people baptize others?

[petra]

It occurred to me that since the Church recognizes baptisms that have the correct form, but are performed by Protestant ministers, that it is possible for any Christian to baptize another. Is this a correct conclusion?

I don’t know why this scenario keeps popping into my head, but I imagine being in a restaurant with a family member who is not a Christian. And this person suddenly has a heart attack. Can I grab a glass of ice water and baptize this person? And if it were possible to do this, can an adult who is unconscious be saved through baptism without choosing to be baptized? (Babies, after all, do not choose it either)

This probably sounds crazy, but I am actually sincere. I want to be prepared if this happens!

 

[Jim_Blackburn]

The ordinary ministers of baptism are deacons, priests, and bishops, however, Code of Canon Law (CIC) allows, “in a case of necessity any person with the right intention, confers baptism licitly” (CIC 861.2).

In the case of an adult in danger of death, certain requirements must be met: “An adult in danger of death can be baptized if, having some knowledge of the principal truths of the faith, the person has manifested in any way at all the intention to receive baptism and promises to observe the commandments of the Christian religion” (CIC 865.2).