Denied baptism because parents are not married in church

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vanie

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I hope this could have some answers.

Somewhere in southeast asia, there is a small community church located in a small country. Majority of parishioners are expatriates.

There are number of cases that a child by parents of Catholic faith has been denied of catholic baptism.

According to the parish priest, it because some child’s parents are not legally married or could be married but only on civil wedding only, which is according to supporters of the priest the civil wedding is not recognized by catholic faith as solemn.

So the Church can only baptized the child if parents are already married in Catholic Church.

My questions is these -

Do that parish priest should really do these to the child ? Is this from the new rules of Catholic Church, since when if it is?

In my own opinion,

if this is really required by the whole Catholic Church, why is that - when the unmarried (in catholic church) parents went to other country, their child is accepted to be baptized by the Catholic Church?

I think the parish priest that i’m talking about is the only one denying child to be baptized…am I wrong or not? Pls enlighten us.
 
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vanie:
Can. 868 §1 For an infant to be baptized lawfully it is required:

1° that the parents, or at least one of them, or the person who lawfully holds their place, give their consent;

2° that there be a wellfounded 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.
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Cannon law requires at least the hope of the child being brought up in the Catholic religion. If the parents have not followed the form of a Catholic marriage, then how is there hope that the child will be reared Catholic? This is probably why the priest refused baptism.
 
thanks for the explanation, but one more question

why other priest in other country allowed the child to be baptized even the parents is not married in catholic church?

if the other priest doesn’t allow but the other priest allows it, that could really lead to confussion among Catholic members,

I think there are many Catholic members who are not really aware of the teachings and law of the Church such as the one that you’ve mentioned.

I think all priest or higher Church authority all over the world should gives more effort to teach us about the Canon Law.

When I was in elementary, there are lots of religious teachers (Nuns) who are regularly going to our public school to teach students a Catholic faith, but in my daughter’s time, I notice that it is not happening anymore unless your child is studying at religious schools.

I think this kind of teachings and preaching should increase. People are not eager to come to the Church to attend Bible studies or prayer meetings because they are more faced by domestic responsibility at home or at work but we can try to visit them in their houses to teach them (for example about the Canon Law )while they’re cooking, washing clothes, watering plants or feeding their children.

Because I also notice that many of us are baptized in Catholic faith but then they are not acting or not implementing the Catholic faith (for example,they don’t agree church married, they commit adultery, they don’t attend mass or they attend but will not finish the mass, or will not participate in communion etc). It is quite sad that many Catholic people are doing this.
 
the priest can not deny baptism in these cases, but he can delay it until such time as the parents and family provide assurance that the child will be raised Catholic, taught the faith, and allowed to live it. If that assurance is lacking, the child cannot be baptized under canon law. It is hard to see if the parents have already rejected Church teaching on marriage, how they could give such an assurance. Even so, if the support of other family members is such that the priest can be confident the child will be raised Catholic, he will baptize the child even if the parents are not married in the Church. The godparents (if married), however, must be married in the Church, practicing Catholics, adhering to all church teaching on marriage and family.
 
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vanie:
why other priest in other country allowed the child to be baptized even the parents is not married in catholic church?

if the other priest doesn’t allow but the other priest allows it, that could really lead to confussion among Catholic members,
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I was married in Las Vegas and dabbled in my hubby’s religion for a while after my daughter was born. This may sound stupid but I wanted her baptized in my Christening Gown. The Prebyterian Church would not do it until we had been members for eight months. We had to become members (the ceremony was two months from the time I called and then she could be baptised six months later)
I went to a local Catholic Church, who said, “Our next Baptism is in two weeks.”
This brought me back to the church. Now I am militant conservative Catholic and my hubby is considering RCIA. That is just my story.

I do have to say that the leading to confusion part is just about normal in the church today.
 
My cousing and her husband tired to get their child baptized and were told they needed to donate more to the church first. I don’t think canon law saws that’s OK either but that’s the way some priests conduct things.
 
I don’t think canon law saws that’s OK either but that’s the way some priests conduct things.
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They should contact their diocesean bishop.
 
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Corinthians:
My cousing and her husband tired to get their child baptized and were told they needed to donate more to the church first. I don’t think canon law saws that’s OK either but that’s the way some priests conduct things.
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Are you sure that is exactly what the priest said? In most parishes, the only record of Mass attendance is the envelope record.

If the priest looked at the envelope use record of the couple and saw that their envelope only showed up on the occasional Sunday, Christmas and Easter, the natural inference is that they do not attend Mass regularly. If they don’t attend Mass regularly, there is no real well founded hope that the child will properly instructed in the Faith, and the priest is correct to delay Baptism until the situation is corrected.

I would be willing to bet serious money that if your cousin and her husband had put 1¢ in each envelope, but had been there every Sunday, the priest would not have had a problem.

Does you cousin and her husband attend Mass each Sunday?
Are they using their envelopes, even if it is a tiny amount?

If not, they should start.
 
Someone said that they are bothered by Catholics who don’t participate in communion. There may be a reason that they don’t.

My husband doesn’t because we didn’t have a Catholic wedding, because my mom said no and he wasn’t worried because he didn’t go to Mass other than maybe once a year, and he didn’t know the rules.

We now attend almost every weekend. And he really enjoys it, but he can’t recieve communion. And he is learning about it with me, and I love having that. We are looking forward to getting our chld baptised and taking him with us to Mass on Sunday. I am looking forward to his birth and baptism just as much as I am when I can become Catholic.
 
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