Emergency baptism in utero?

[stbruno]

Here’s the good news for all families who have lost a child due to miscarriage, abortion or stillbirth…
We believe that even if the child was not baptized, God is holding them in the palm of his hand. There is no such place in Catholic doctrine as 'Limbo"…which for years was a theological thought and was a considered to be a place of natural happiness but without the presence of God.

Instead, we rely on the mercy of God and believe that He has called all the little children to Him! So don’t worry about the spiritual welfare of the infant…emergency baptisms are done all the time in delivery rooms when death may be iminent.

Current official Catholic teaching:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/_themes/topo/topbul1d.gifThe Catechism of the Catholic Church states in CCC 1261: “As regards children who have died without baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God, who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus’ tenderness toward children, which caused him to say, ‘Let the children come to me, do not hinder them’ [Mark 10:14, cf. 1 Tim. 2:4], allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without baptism. All the more urgent is the Church’s call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy baptism”.
Praise God!

 

[mary_s_kid]

Here’s the good news for all families who have lost a child due to miscarriage, abortion or stillbirth…
We believe that even if the child was not baptized, God is holding them in the palm of his hand. There is no such place in Catholic doctrine as 'Limbo"…which for years was a theological thought and was a considered to be a place of natural happiness but without the presence of God.

Instead, we rely on the mercy of God and believe that He has called all the little children to Him! So don’t worry about the spiritual welfare of the infant…emergency baptisms are done all the time in delivery rooms when death may be iminent.

Current official Catholic teaching:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/_themes/topo/topbul1d.gifThe Catechism of the Catholic Church states in CCC 1261: “As regards children who have died without baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God, who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus’ tenderness toward children, which caused him to say, ‘Let the children come to me, do not hinder them’ [Mark 10:14, cf. 1 Tim. 2:4], allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without baptism. All the more urgent is the Church’s call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy baptism”.
Praise God!

Thank you for quoting the CCC here, St. Bruno. What a terrible torture to think a baby or child of yours won’t be eternally happy with God just because they didn’ t survive to their baptism. God’s mercy is fathomless. How could they not be with Him? God created them to be with Him.

 

[NaturalEnquirer]

Thanks for the replies, everybody.

Although I must say, I’m getting a little confused. It seems that the consensus is that God will receive the unbaptized infant into heaven. This certainly seems like what I would expect from God’s mercy.

But it does beg the question - if that’s so, why should we have our babies baptized at all? I assume there’s a better answer than “because the Church says to.”

I’m clearly missing something fundamental here.

 

[stbruno]

Here’s what our early church fathers believed about infant baptism.
catholic.com/thisrock/1991/9109frs.asp

or maybe this article will help explain particularly to Fundamentalists the reasons for infant baptism.
catholic.com/library/infant_baptism.asp

With all things…faith is the key word! Praise God!

 

[Andreas_Hofer]

Thanks for the replies, everybody.

Although I must say, I’m getting a little confused. It seems that the consensus is that God will receive the unbaptized infant into heaven. This certainly seems like what I would expect from God’s mercy.

But it does beg the question - if that’s so, why should we have our babies baptized at all? I assume there’s a better answer than “because the Church says to.”

I’m clearly missing something fundamental here.

A baptized baby is basically assured entry into heaven - the baptism has cleansed him of original sin and he is incapable of committing any more sins until the age of reason, thus, a sure-fire ticket through the pearly gates.

An unbaptized, infant, on the other hand, has not been cleansed of original sin. The Catechism says we “hope” there is a way of salvation for them, just because it seems odd that a merciful God would hold it against an innocent child. This is different from a baptized child who we “know” will gain entry into heaven.

That is why it is misleading to tell someone that their unbaptized child has received baptism of desire - no one can desire baptism for someone else in the sense that would yield a baptism of desire. Someone incapable of further sin who really had received baptism of desire (although this information isn’t, in fact, available to us) would fall into the assured category, but this case is different. So we can’t “know” that an unbaptized infant will enter heaven just because the parents desired baptism for him, we can only “hope” that God will be merciful.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Thanks for the replies, everybody.

Although I must say, I’m getting a little confused. It seems that the consensus is that God will receive the unbaptized infant into heaven. This certainly seems like what I would expect from God’s mercy.

But it does beg the question - if that’s so, why should we have our babies baptized at all? I assume there’s a better answer than “because the Church says to.”

I’m clearly missing something fundamental here.

“It seems that the consensus is that God will receive the unbaptized infant into heaven.”

Well that is wrong, we must be careful when posting on thsi subject to be very careful not to read too much into it. It simply says that we MAY have HOPE, that there MIGHT be a way, known only to God, for these unbaptized children to enter Heaven.

It does not say that they go to Heaven without any doubt.

It goes on to say that the only certainity is for the parents not to neglect to Baptize their children as soon as possible after birth.

 

[Woodstock]

But it does beg the question - if that’s so, why should we have our babies baptized at all? I assume there’s a better answer than “because the Church says to.”

The sacraments provide us with the grace of God in order to endure our physical presence on earth and to run the good race until the end. We baptize our infants to receive them into the church and to strengthen and nourish them spiritually for their journey here on earth. It is not out of fear that we baptize them, but out of love.

Those infants whose physical life is short are not in need of that nourishment after death because they already have far more than we are able to provide them. Instead, we can pray to them and ask them for their intercession for us.