…The Catholic Church accepts paptism by an atheist (we don’t)…
I presume you mean baptism.
For valid baptism as recognized by the Catholic Church, the following are required:
- Valid matter: water. Under normal circumstances the ordinary minister of baptism (a bishop, priest, or deacon) will bless the water as part of the baptismal ritual, but in extreme circumstances (such as imminent death) any water may be used and any person may minister the sacrament.
As to the water, it is most fitting that clean, pure water be used but in an emergency lacking such, any available water may be used. Contaminants in the water, if unavoiadable, do not invalidate the matter as long as the water is still considered to be water but not if it is considered to be a different substance to which water is merely an ingredient. Thus dirty water or sea water may be used in an emergency if that is what is available, but milk or Coca-Cola are not water and may not be used even though both contain water. The water may be applied by pouring on the head or by immersion. Pouring would probably be done in most emergency baptisms.
As to the extraordinary minister of baptism in an emergency situation, if a bishop, priest or deacon is not available it would be best that at least a Catholic layman in good standing administer the baptism. But if even this is not possible, a baptized non-Catholic Christian or an unbaptized person may administer the baptism, even an atheist. More on that later. The only person who may not administer an emergency baptism is the person to be baptized, himself.
So far it would seem that a Mormon could validly administer an emergency baptism recognized as valid by the Catholic Church.
- Valid form: a Trinitarian formula. In English, in the Latin Church at its simplest the minister of baptism would say “I baptize you in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”, while the water is poured or the person immersed. Please note that I said “a Trinitarian formula” rather than “the Trinitarian formula”, as some variations in wording will not invalidate the form as long as it is the Holy Trinity in whose Name the person is being baptized: the Third Person may be refered to as “the Holy Ghost” rather than “the Holy Spirit”; the words may be spoken in Spanish or some other language; Some Eastern Churches, IIRC, speak the form in terms of the baptism as an accomplished fact rather than as what the minister intends to do, i.e.: “You are baptized in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”. (I am sure others will correct me if I am mistaken on this point.) None of these variations would invalidate the form.
Other variants such as not naming any of the Persons of the Trinity (
“I baptize you in the Name of God”), not naming all three Persons of the Trinity (
“I baptize you in the Name of Jesus”), using improper names for the Persons of the Trinity (
“I baptize you in the Name of the Parent and the Child and the Comforter” or “
I baptize you in the Name of the Creator and the Redeemer and the Sanctifier”), or adding names of persons other than the three Persons of the Holy Trinity (
“I baptize you in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and the Blessed Virgin Mary”) would all invalidate the form and the baptism. Please note that naming the person to be be baptized, if that person’s name is known, does not indalidate the form. So the minister could say
“I baptize you, Mary, in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”, presuming that the person being baptized is named Mary or is being given the baptismal name Mary.
If a mormon is using a valid Trinitarian form, it would still seem that he could could validly administer an emergency baptism recognized as valid by the Catholic Church.