How is it so? I thought the we Protestants are in an imperfect union specifically through a trinitarian baptism, which the mormons don’t do.
What is the position of Vatican II then? Could you explain please?
They were not Christians before Vatican II and they are not Christians after Vatican II. Nothing in Vatican II documents says otherwise.
Please explain your comment with specific reference to the Mormons.
Prior to Vatican II, the Church would refrain from calling Protestants Christians.
The potentials for numerous divisions to arise, led the Catholic Church to focus its conversations with Protestants (as a single denomination or as a group), and remind them about the dangers that arise from personal interpretation of Sacred Scripture.
The Catholic Church would emphasize the urgent necessity for Protestants to come back, and become members of the Catholic Church, i.e. the Church established by Christ (
Mystical Body of Christ). Like Catholics, Protestants would receive the fullness of faith, and avail that various sacraments instituted by Christ, that help Christians in perfecting ones interior life and remaining the state of sanctifying grace.
Because of the potential for numerous denominations to arise among Protestants, the Church also recognized that sacraments such as Baptism, even though using the same formula, would need to be evaluated. Consider the problem when one denomination of Protestants use the Trinitarian formula, and others use variations like ‘I baptize thee in the name of Jesus’.
Catholic Baptism vs. Protestant Baptism Apologetics
Hi, Chaz, There are three requirements for receiving the Eucharist (besides being in a state of grace). “Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and new birth” is only one of them, and if she was baptized in a Protestant church, by the proper formula (in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit), then she is validly baptized in our church, too. Another is to live “in keeping with what Christ taught”; well, she may be doing this. The one that probably keeps her from being eli…
If you or a friend are in doubt, ask your Protestant pastor a copy of your Baptismal certificate, and how the ceremony was performed. To remedy deficiencies that arise from a potential invalid Baptism, the Catholic Church performs conditional Baptism, on a case by case basis.
Conditional Baptism Liturgy and Sacraments
Hello, and I’m glad to be a (new) member of this forum. This is my question: If a Catholic found out that they were baptized by a now-elderly Catholic relative rather than a priest (and that relative now is not completely certain that the baptism was performed correctly), would the need to receive Conditional Baptism invalidate the many confessions made over the years? Many thanks for any help you can give me on this question.
After Vatican II, the Catholic Church took a step back. It diminished stating that the Church of Christ is the Catholic Church, and began to emphasize and speak of the Church in terms of a ‘society’. Protestants, who do not profess the faith in entirety as a Catholic would, were now called Christians.
Distinctions (i.e. Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, etc.) before Vatican II were quite clear. After Vatican II, the distinctions are now dependent on how one interprets the Vatican II council documents.
In the case of Mormons, the current position of the Catholic Church is that the Baptismal formula is invalid because of its form and intention. However, in a state of emergency, a Baptism performed by the Mormon on a person who desire to become Catholic would be considered valid.
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/c...oc_20010605_battesimo_mormoni-ladaria_en.html
