“Solomon” is so true.
The answer the church came up with agrees with Augustine. *Ex Opere Operantis *where the virtue of the minister is taken into account creates a mess. both doctrinally and pastorally.
We ended up with the position called *ex opere operato *which is what you’ve described above. As long as the work itself is done, then the sacrament was successful. but it is not the baptism of heretics we are confirming but our own, which was performed by them ( Bk IV ch 4-6).
Augustine didnt want Cyprian’s name to become mud, however, and so wrote, “…whilst he differed in opinion from them, not through any contention of ill will, but through human infirmity, erring on a point which God, in his own time, would reveal to him by by reason of his perseverance in love.” ch 8
baptism is holy in itself, not “in any way defiled by their wickedness” (10-15)
“…but when baptism is given in the words of the gospel, however great be the perverseness of understanding on the part either of him through whom, or of him to whom it is given, the sacrament itself is holy in itself on account of Him whose sacrament it is. And if anyone,** receiving it at the hands of a misguided man, yet does not receive the perversity of the minister,** but only the holiness of the mystery, being closely bound to the unity of the Church in good faith and hope and charity, he receives remission of sins, - not by the words which do eat as a canker, but by the sacraments of the gospel flowing from a heavenly source.” (ch 12-19)
Even a heretic, who holds to virtue may be in a better position than a bad catholic (20-28) or the burning zeal of the catechumen above a baptised heretic (29-30) because of the Holy Spirit working in them
"So neither ought we to depreciate the sacrament of baptism, even though it has been received outside the church. But since it is of no avail for salvation unless he who has baptism be incorporated into the church, correcting also his own depravity, let us therefore correct the error of the heretics, that we may recognize what in them is not their own but Christ’s."
