Can this be an invalid confirmation?

[met1591]

I read a while back that there were atheists in the UK who were converting to Catholicism with the intention of hoping to get their children accepted into Catholic schools for a better education. Since these parents weren’t sincere in their conversion, does this mean that their confirmations were invalid? And since you can only be confirmed once, what happens to the parents who later change their heart and genuinely want to be Catholic? Is it too late for them?

 

[Arwing]

I don’t know enough about sacramental theology to say whether the confirmations in this case are valid. Anyway, to your question on whether it’s ever “too late”, the answer is no.

If a confirmation is invalid (e.g. proper form, matter, or intention are lacking), then no sacrament took place and the person can be confirmed “again”.

If the confirmation is valid, but not efficacious (e.g. the recipient lacks proper disposition), this means the sacrament took place and the person received the sacrament’s character, but not its graces. However, these graces are received when the person is restored to the state of grace through reconciliation.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

Whether the sacrament was valid would depend on the administering bishop. It’s not dependent on the person receiving the sacrament.

 

[Horton]

There are still many people who convert for some other reason than a strong desire to be Catholic. Their potential spouse or spouse is Catholic, their friends are doing it, family members are converting they may as well, and many other reasons. The beauty of it is a seed is planted and maybe one day it will bear fruit.

God will take us from where we are, if we are willing to allow Him to do so.

Do you know how many kids go through confirmation every year with no more thought to the process that what the party will be like? In my parish, in my ministry we have about half of the kids in sacramental prep for confirmation who are only doing it because their parents want them to. This is an uphill battle for my catechists every year, how do we engage the youth enough for them to want confirmation for their own sake?

Do you think those confirmations would be invalid. They go before the bishop with their sponsors and he confirms them. If the bishop isn’t questioning it, neither will I.