Theoretical Situation: What happens when one who believes they are baptized but are not is ordained?

[Green]

Since free will exists what happens when one invalidly baptizes. For example; the priest says the wrong formula or uses a liquid other than water and the person was a infant for example and doesn’t remember and later on the person wishes to be ordained, would ‘Baptism of Desire’ be provided as long as he continues in his state of ignorance, what of the sacraments he would later dispense?

 

[bobperk]

I would imagine that as long as he had his baptismal certificate and was ignorant of the fact that the ceremonial rubrics of his baptism were incorrect, then a Baptism of Desire would fit this case. Just my guess.

 

[PaulfromIowa]

the priest says the wrong formula or uses a liquid other than water

That simply does not happen. If a priest did use the wrong words, and nobody noticed, then baptism of desire would apply. If that person were later ordained to the priesthood, he would be validly ordained.

 

[angelic06]

Green:

the priest says the wrong formula or uses a liquid other than water

That simply does not happen. If a priest did use the wrong words, and nobody noticed, then baptism of desire would apply. If that person were later ordained to the priesthood, he would be validly ordained.

Source of information to prove that baptism of desire applies in case of later ordination?

Fr. David or another trained cleric (priest or deacon) available to comment on this?

 

[YoungApologist3]

@FrDavid96

 

[edward_george1]

Baptism of desire refers to a very specific context, namely that of the fate of the unbaptized who desired entry to the Church, but who died before they could be baptized. It does NOT make an unbaptized person in life into a baptized person. If a person was baptized invalidly, that is, not baptized, all the desire in the world will not make them baptized. And if they are not baptized, they do not validly receive Holy Orders. So what follows from that is that the sacraments performed by the unbaptized, and thus not ordained, priest would be invalid insofar as they require Holy Orders to work. Really that just leaves baptism as the only one that could be validly achieved. Others require either the power of orders alone or that coupled with jurisdiction (in the case of marriage and confession) in order to be worked validly.

In short, “baptism of desire” refers not to the objective state of one in life, it does not render an unbaptized person baptized objectively or ontologically, it merely refers to the state of a soul of an unbaptized person on their way into the Church who died before baptism.

-Fr ACEGC

 

[FrDavid96]

No.

The phrase “baptism by desire” is not to be taken literally as a form of baptism.

It means that if a person truly desired to be baptized, but died before having the opportunity that God would treat that person, on the Last Day, the same as one who did receive baptism. It’s not (as the name might imply) a form of the sacrament.

Only a baptized man can be ordained. If he wasn’t baptized, then the attempt at ordination was invalid.

That’s why the Church makes sure that any candidate for ordination was indeed validly baptized.

 

[Elf01]

Others require either the power of orders alone or that coupled with jurisdiction (in the case of marriage and confession) in order to be worked validly.

But in the Latin Church the couple confer the sacrament so if they married in front of him in good faith would it not be seen as valid?

I understand that it may even be permitted to appoint a lay person as a witness.

 

[po18guy]

Practically speaking, impossible.