Un-baptized baby

[wkj_123]

I have a question, if a child’s parent was born Protestant and is beginning RCIA but the one year old child is not baptized what options are there for baptizing the child? If the child were to die before baptism, but it was the parents intention to have the baby baptized as soon as possible does baptism of desire come in to play? What are the church’s teaching on this? Thank you

 

[pensmama87]

For the parents in this case I would suggest they consult the pastor and RCIA team. I know that in our parish, children are typically baptized around the same time as their parents, though not always at the Easter Vigil. If one parent is already Catholic, the children can be baptized sooner.

 

[wkj_123]

Thank you for the answer. I guess a big part of the question is what if something were to happen to the child during that waiting period? I have heard of baptism of desire for adults but what does the church teach for infants in this situation?

 

[Lou2U]

If an infant is in immediate danger of death, they can be baptised regardless. If not, they will have to wit until there is a founded hope that the baby will be raised Catholic. I assume from this that the baby will have to wait until at least one parent has gone through RCIA.

Catechism: vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c1a1.htm

Lou

 

[Don_Ruggero]

I have a question, if a child’s parent was born Protestant and is beginning RCIA but the one year old child is not baptized what options are there for baptizing the child? If the child were to die before baptism, but it was the parents intention to have the baby baptized as soon as possible does baptism of desire come in to play? What are the church’s teaching on this? Thank you

The parents should speak with the pastor of the parish. The canon requires that he (the pastor) have a “founded hope” that the child will be raised Catholic. That lies in the middle ground between certitude and complete uncertainty.

The canon is elastic enough to give a latitude to the one who has the cura animarum for his parish while also giving a definite orientation that is not to be interpreted too broadly or too strictly. The discussions surrounding this concept with my students were always the most interesting, as they struggled to apply the canon in situations I would propose to them.

Presuming that the parents and baby are in the first world, the vast majority of one year old children live and the value of applying the question of mortality in this instance is dubious. (If the child has an actual disability or life threatening condition or there is truly an expectation that the child is facing something life-threatening, of course the pastor should be informed of this at once.) However, the disposition of the parents is much less dubious.

If they are simply considering becoming Catholic, that is one thing. If they are firm in their intention and demonstrate that they’re determinedly on a path to become Catholic, that can qualify as a founded hope that the infant would be raised Catholic. If the parents have already been received into full communion with the Church, we are markedly beyond the threshold of founded hope.

The decision rests by canon law with the pastor – and since he knows the parties concerned, he is best positioned to make an informed decision and application.

 

[Todd977]

With respect to children who have died without Baptism, the Catechism of the Catholic Church says:
1261 As regards children who have died without Baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus’ tenderness toward children which caused him to say: “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them,” allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent is the Church’s call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy Baptism. (source)