Question about Confirmation

[bajanmummaofabc]

Hi there,
I am new to this site and just had a question that I can’t find the answer to anywhere. I am a Catholic, but have chosen to Baptize all of my children Anglican. Please no fire and mean comments, this was a personal decision that I have never regretted. My kids all go to Catholic School, I knew I wanted them to from the time they were born. My oldest is in Grade 7 now and they were talking about Confirmation today in class as they will be getting confirmed in May. The teacher asked who was Catholic in the class and almost all the kids put up their hands. Then he asked if anyone was Anglican and my daughter put up her hand. He then said that she may be able to do confirmation with her class if it was OK with her (Anglican) priest. He said it had happened in the past. As far as I had thought, the Catholic Church would not allow a non-Catholic to receive any Sacraments in the Catholic Church. If anyone could please clear this up for me. I don’t want her thinking that she is going to do it with her class to find out it is not allowed. We are in Canada, I don’t know if that makes a difference or not. Thanks in advance for any (name removed by moderator)ut.

 

[thistle]

Hi there,
I am new to this site and just had a question that I can’t find the answer to anywhere. I am a Catholic, but have chosen to Baptize all of my children Anglican. Please no fire and mean comments, this was a personal decision that I have never regretted. My kids all go to Catholic School, I knew I wanted them to from the time they were born. My oldest is in Grade 7 now and they were talking about Confirmation today in class as they will be getting confirmed in May. The teacher asked who was Catholic in the class and almost all the kids put up their hands. Then he asked if anyone was Anglican and my daughter put up her hand. He then said that she may be able to do confirmation with her class if it was OK with her (Anglican) priest. He said it had happened in the past. As far as I had thought, the Catholic Church would not allow a non-Catholic to receive any Sacraments in the Catholic Church. If anyone could please clear this up for me. I don’t want her thinking that she is going to do it with her class to find out it is not allowed. We are in Canada, I don’t know if that makes a difference or not. Thanks in advance for any (name removed by moderator)ut.

Are you saying that as a Catholic you are not allowing your children to be brought up in the Catholic faith or are you saying you want them brought up in the Catholic faith but for some unfathomable reason you would not allow them to be baptised as Catholics.

 

[Phemie]

Hi there,
I am new to this site and just had a question that I can’t find the answer to anywhere. I am a Catholic, but have chosen to Baptize all of my children Anglican. Please no fire and mean comments, this was a personal decision that I have never regretted. My kids all go to Catholic School, I knew I wanted them to from the time they were born. My oldest is in Grade 7 now and they were talking about Confirmation today in class as they will be getting confirmed in May. The teacher asked who was Catholic in the class and almost all the kids put up their hands. Then he asked if anyone was Anglican and my daughter put up her hand. He then said that she may be able to do confirmation with her class if it was OK with her (Anglican) priest. He said it had happened in the past. As far as I had thought, the Catholic Church would not allow a non-Catholic to receive any Sacraments in the Catholic Church. If anyone could please clear this up for me. I don’t want her thinking that she is going to do it with her class to find out it is not allowed. We are in Canada, I don’t know if that makes a difference or not. Thanks in advance for any (name removed by moderator)ut.

Your understanding is correct and the teacher is wrong. But weirder things have happened.

Your children are Anglican. Should your daughter wish to become Catholic, she would have to make a Profession of Faith and then be confirmed and receive Communion. The Catholic Church does not confirm Anglicans, she only confirms Catholics.

I doubt very much that an Anglican priest would be OK with this if his parishioner didn’t mean to come into full communion with the Catholic Church. I’m pretty sure than he would understand the meaning of being confirmed in the Catholic Church.

 

[bajanmummaofabc]

Are you saying that as a Catholic you are not allowing your children to be brought up in the Catholic faith or are you saying you want them brought up in the Catholic faith but for some unfathomable reason you would not allow them to be baptised as Catholics.

Actually, since you didn’t answer my question at all, you are of no help. I just asked a simple question about confirmation and did not actually ask for your approval of how I am raising my kids. In all honesty it has never been an issue of her doing her confirmation in the Catholic Church, I am only trying to clarify a point. I send my children to Catholic School because I believe in GOD. I believe he is the same in both Anglican and Catholic. Or is there some different God that my kids and I pray to because we are not of the same religion. I wanted my kids to go to a school where they are able to learn about God, that is all. I actually was married in the Anglican Church because my husband is not Catholic. I baptized my children in the same Church I was married in. My father is Anglican and my mum is Catholic so I have been to both the Anglican and Catholic Church growing up. I find the two faiths very similar and am not interested in the politics. I try to live my life to be a good person and teach my children to do the same.

 

[bajanmummaofabc]

Your understanding is correct and the teacher is wrong. But weirder things have happened.

Your children are Anglican. Should your daughter wish to become Catholic, she would have to make a Profession of Faith and then be confirmed and receive Communion. The Catholic Church does not confirm Anglicans, she only confirms Catholics.

Thank you very much for your helpful and non-judgemental answer. I believe that my daughter is very happy with her Anglican faith and will pursue confirmation classes outside of school. I thought it wouldn’t make sense for her to be allowed to receive only one sacrament but not the others.

 

[babochka]

I think that, in order to be Confirmed in the Catholic Church, your children would have to make a profession of faith and become Catholic. Then I’m sure it wouldn’t be a problem.

Elizabeth

 

[runningdude]

Hi there,
I am new to this site and just had a question that I can’t find the answer to anywhere. I am a Catholic, but have chosen to Baptize all of my children Anglican. Please no fire and mean comments, this was a personal decision that I have never regretted.

When handling delicate matter like this, it important to realize that the Catholic Church imposes its rules and “politics” out of profound and love and hope that all of humanity may enter heaven. At this age, it would be your kids decision whether or not to remain Anglican or become Catholic, however, for yourself I would urge schedule an appointment with a priest to discuss your situation.

My kids all go to Catholic School, I knew I wanted them to from the time they were born. My oldest is in Grade 7 now and they were talking about Confirmation today in class as they will be getting confirmed in May. The teacher asked who was Catholic in the class and almost all the kids put up their hands. Then he asked if anyone was Anglican and my daughter put up her hand. He then said that she may be able to do confirmation with her class if it was OK with her (Anglican) priest. He said it had happened in the past. As far as I had thought, the Catholic Church would not allow a non-Catholic to receive any Sacraments in the Catholic Church. If anyone could please clear this up for me. I don’t want her thinking that she is going to do it with her class to find out it is not allowed. We are in Canada, I don’t know if that makes a difference or not. Thanks in advance for any (name removed by moderator)ut.

Ultimately, it should not be the Anglican priest that decides whether your kids receive confirmation with the class, but the bishop whose diocese the school falls in. It is possible the bishop may allow non-Catholics to participate, but I know for sure that it wouldn’t happen in most places. (Even if they are not allowed to receive without first converting to Catholicism, I’m sure they would still be permitted to learn about the sacrament with the the rest of the class.)

If the bishop does administer the sacrament, it would certainly be a valid sacrament. If he chooses to confirm a non-Catholic, that would be his choice to do so. However, if the bishop were not aware he was confirming a non-Catholic, it would be gravely sinful to all involved who deceived the bishop into performing the sacrament under the circumstances.

I would urge you write to the Catholic bishop that oversees the school, and have your kids respect his wishes in the regards to the matter.

 

[bajanmummaofabc]

When handling delicate matter like this, it important to realize that the Catholic Church imposes its rules and “politics” out of profound and love and hope that all of humanity may enter heaven. At this age, it would be your kids decision whether or not to remain Anglican or become Catholic, however, for yourself I would urge schedule an appointment with a priest to discuss your situation.

Ultimately, it should not be the Anglican priest that decides whether your kids receive confirmation with the class, but the bishop whose diocese the school falls in. It is possible the bishop may allow non-Catholics to participate, but I know for sure that it wouldn’t happen in most places. (Even if they are not allowed to receive without first converting to Catholicism, I’m sure they would still be permitted to learn about the sacrament with the the rest of the class.)

If the bishop does administer the sacrament, it would certainly be a valid sacrament. If he chooses to confirm a non-Catholic, that would be his choice to do so. However, if the bishop were not aware he was confirming a non-Catholic, it would be gravely sinful to all involved who deceived the bishop into performing the sacrament under the circumstances.

I would urge you write to the Catholic bishop that oversees the school, and have your kids respect his wishes in the regards to the matter.

Thank you,
We would never try to have her confirmed under false pretenses. I just talked to her about it, and she said she is happy with her Anglican faith. I gave her the option of converting and she said that she would just like to pursue classes within her own church. I never would have even thought anything about this had the teacher not said anything. I just always went with the understanding that it couldn’t happen and when the time came she could make her own decision. In a way however it was good to have a conversation about her faith, and to affirm that she is happy with everything.

Oh and to clarify, when I said politics, I meant the faith vs faith politics. I believe that everyone should be able to worship in whichever manner they choose.

 

[Aggies08]

Perhaps the teacher mean confirmation preparation (but not receiving the sacrament itself)??

 

[bajanmummaofabc]

Perhaps the teacher mean confirmation preparation (but not receiving the sacrament itself)??

It’s possible, but when I asked her it sounded like he meant they did confirmation. She will do the prep with them anyway, so she will get to learn about it as they do. He is a grade 7 teacher and this year is the first year that the grade 7’s are doing confirmation, it was typically done in grade 8, but the Bishop wanted to change it. So I am wondering if maybe the teacher was a little confused as this is his first go at preparing a whole class for confirmation.

 

[ChibiViolet]

Well, any Christian baptism makes one an external Catholic and your children have been raised Catholic, right? That would make them internally Catholic as well so if my understanding is correct, there should be no problem in having them confirmed.

I’m very confused as to why you wanted them baptised in an Anglican church though…

 

[TheDoctor]

It is most probable the teacher confused those Anglican’s who have converted to Catholic via the Anglican Ordinariate and assumed that all Anglican’s now have access to the sacraments.

Since we all make mistakes, it would be a work of mercy to contact the teacher or DRE to confirm your understanding so that the teacher can give correct information in the future.

 

[ConstantineTG]

Maybe the teacher confused about Anglicans in communion with Rome with Anglicans who are not.

 

[thistle]

Actually, since you didn’t answer my question at all, you are of no help. I just asked a simple question about confirmation and did not actually ask for your approval of how I am raising my kids. In all honesty it has never been an issue of her doing her confirmation in the Catholic Church, I am only trying to clarify a point. I send my children to Catholic School because I believe in GOD. I believe he is the same in both Anglican and Catholic. Or is there some different God that my kids and I pray to because we are not of the same religion. I wanted my kids to go to a school where they are able to learn about God, that is all. I actually was married in the Anglican Church because my husband is not Catholic. I baptized my children in the same Church I was married in. My father is Anglican and my mum is Catholic so I have been to both the Anglican and Catholic Church growing up. I find the two faiths very similar and am not interested in the politics. I try to live my life to be a good person and teach my children to do the same.

If your husband is Catholic he is to ensure his children are baptised as Catholics and brought up in the Catholic faith. It is not okay by saying Anglicans or whoever believe in the same God so what difference does it make. It makes a big difference. There is no salvation outside the Catholic Church. To keep children outside the Church endangers their immortal souls. That has nothing to do with politics.

 

[bajanmummaofabc]

If your husband is Catholic he is to ensure his children are baptised as Catholics and brought up in the Catholic faith. It is not okay by saying Anglicans or whoever believe in the same God so what difference does it make. It makes a big difference. There is no salvation outside the Catholic Church. To keep children outside the Church endangers their immortal souls. That has nothing to do with politics.

My husband is not Catholic, actually he is not baptized at all. His family were United and did not baptize their kids. By the time he was old enough to decide his parents were going through a nasty divorce with one of his parents having a mental illness and refusing to take meds for it. He was basically dumped on the other parents doorstep one day and abandoned by the parent with the mental illness. He hasn’t seen that parent in 15 or so years, except the very odd time when he drives by her in the street. The last time he tried to talk to that parent they didn’t recognize him, called him a name and walked away. Just a little background so that your holier than thou attitude can understand that sometimes people aren’t worried so much about the teachings of somebody in a country thousands of miles away when life throws them a whole bunch of lemons. My husband is an amazing man and would give anybody the shirt off his back, he is always concerned about everyone and is a far better person than a lot of people I have known who make a point of going to Church every Sunday. I was always taught to believe that God was a forgiving God. I’m pretty sure that Heaven isn’t only reserved for Catholics. It is attitudes like that which make people like me turn away from the Catholic Church and look elsewhere for spiritual guidance. Yes I send my children to Catholic School because I want them to learn about God. I like that they pray in school every day and are taught to be compassionate and live in the light of the Lord. They actually don’t teach them at school that Catholics are the only ones who will have Salvation, they teach them that God loves us all. And once again, thank you for not answering my question, but getting into a debate. Ultimately I am the one who has to live with my decisions and if it came down to it I would convert to being an Anglican before I would covert all my other kids to being Catholic. Heck we can all roast in hell together.

 

[thistle]

My husband is not Catholic, actually he is not baptized at all. His family were United and did not baptize their kids. By the time he was old enough to decide his parents were going through a nasty divorce with one of his parents having a mental illness and refusing to take meds for it. He was basically dumped on the other parents doorstep one day and abandoned by the parent with the mental illness. He hasn’t seen that parent in 15 or so years, except the very odd time when he drives by her in the street. The last time he tried to talk to that parent they didn’t recognize him, called him a name and walked away. Just a little background so that your holier than thou attitude can understand that sometimes people aren’t worried so much about the teachings of somebody in a country thousands of miles away when life throws them a whole bunch of lemons. My husband is an amazing man and would give anybody the shirt off his back, he is always concerned about everyone and is a far better person than a lot of people I have known who make a point of going to Church every Sunday. I was always taught to believe that God was a forgiving God. I’m pretty sure that Heaven isn’t only reserved for Catholics. It is attitudes like that which make people like me turn away from the Catholic Church and look elsewhere for spiritual guidance. Yes I send my children to Catholic School because I want them to learn about God. I like that they pray in school every day and are taught to be compassionate and live in the light of the Lord. They actually don’t teach them at school that Catholics are the only ones who will have Salvation, they teach them that God loves us all. And once again, thank you for not answering my question, but getting into a debate. Ultimately I am the one who has to live with my decisions and if it came down to it I would convert to being an Anglican before I would covert all my other kids to being Catholic. Heck we can all roast in hell together.

I beg your pardon. I misread your post about your husband.
However, it does not change the fact that there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church. I don’t think your comment is charitable to your children to want them to roast in Hell.

 

[bajanmummaofabc]

I don’t want my children to roast in hell, I know they won’t through what I have learned about God. My point was that I love them and if anybody is going to convert to be together for eternity then I will do it and deal with the consequences. Which in your way of thinking, the consequences would be not going to Heaven or receiving salvation. Gotta go, off to take the kids to Catholic School. Have a nice day.. You know what they say, never try to have a conversation about Religion or Politics. I appreciate that you and I will never agree, and that is OK.

 

[Vico]

Hi there,
I am new to this site and just had a question that I can’t find the answer to anywhere. I am a Catholic, but have chosen to Baptize all of my children Anglican. Please no fire and mean comments, this was a personal decision that I have never regretted. My kids all go to Catholic School, I knew I wanted them to from the time they were born. My oldest is in Grade 7 now and they were talking about Confirmation today in class as they will be getting confirmed in May. The teacher asked who was Catholic in the class and almost all the kids put up their hands. Then he asked if anyone was Anglican and my daughter put up her hand. He then said that she may be able to do confirmation with her class if it was OK with her (Anglican) priest. He said it had happened in the past. As far as I had thought, the Catholic Church would not allow a non-Catholic to receive any Sacraments in the Catholic Church. If anyone could please clear this up for me. I don’t want her thinking that she is going to do it with her class to find out it is not allowed. We are in Canada, I don’t know if that makes a difference or not. Thanks in advance for any (name removed by moderator)ut.

Confirmation is only for Catholics, but for penance, the Eucharist, and anointing of the sick, only in certain circumstances. Catholic baptism, except in grave situations, needs founded hope that the child will be raised Catholic. Matrimony, with non-Catholic with permission or dispensation, and Holy Orders must be Catholic. (Also there are other laws to consider for eastern Catholic and other Apostolic Churches.)

Canon law for the Latin Church
Can. 844

§1 Catholic ministers may lawfully administer the sacraments only to catholic members of Christ's faithful, who equally may lawfully receive them only from catholic ministers, except as provided in §2, 3 and 4 of this canon [penance, the Eucharist and anointing of the sick] and in can. 861 §2 [baptism]. 

§2 Whenever necessity requires or a genuine spiritual advantage commends it, and provided the danger of error or indifferentism is avoided, Christ's faithful for whom it is physically or morally impossible to approach a catholic minister, may lawfully receive the sacraments of penance, the Eucharist and anointing of the sick from non-Catholic ministers in whose Churches these sacraments are valid.

§3 Catholic ministers may lawfully administer the sacraments of penance, the Eucharist and anointing of the sick to members of the eastern Churches not in full communion with the catholic Church, if they spontaneously ask for them and are properly disposed. The same applies to members of other Churches which the Apostolic See judges to be in the same position as the aforesaid eastern Churches so far as the sacraments are concerned.

§4 If there is a danger of death or if, in the judgment of the diocesan Bishop or of the Episcopal Conference, there is some other grave and pressing need, catholic ministers may lawfully administer these same sacraments to other Christians not in full communion with the catholic Church, who cannot approach a minister of their own community and who spontaneously ask for them, provided that they demonstrate the catholic faith in respect of these sacraments and are properly disposed.

§5 In respect of the cases dealt with in §2, 3 and 4, the diocesan Bishop or the Episcopal Conference is not to issue general norms except after consultation with the competent authority, at least at the local level, of the non-Catholic Church or community concerned.

Can. 889

§1 Every baptized person who is not confirmed, and only such a person, is capable of receiving confirmation.

§2 Apart from the danger of death, to receive confirmation lawfully a  person who has the use of reason must be suitably instructed, properly  disposed and able to renew the baptismal promises. 

Can. 890 The faithful are bound to receive this sacrament at the  proper time. Parents and pastors of souls, especially parish priests,  are to see that the faithful are properly instructed to receive the  sacrament and come to it at the opportune time. 

Can. 891 The sacrament of confirmation is to be conferred on the  faithful at about the age of discretion, unless the Episcopal Conference  has decided on a different age, or there is a danger of death or, in  the judgment of the minister, a grave reason suggests otherwise.