Yet another devout Catholic here. First of all, before your child can be baptized you are required to take some instruction, explaining the responsibilities the parents and godparents have when they agree to the baptismal promises. There can be an exception some instances (my sister gave birth to very premature twins. Because they weren’t expected to survive {they didn’t} they had the priest baptize them) but it’s not a casual "let’s pop down to St. So&so’s and have little Eddie baptized. If the parents were married in the Church, they had to take instruction from a priest and probably agree to raise their children as Catholic. This isn’t a promise they should’ve made if they didn’t intend to keep it.
If your brother is interested in exploring the faith that he hasn’t quite abandoned, let him do so, so that he can make an informed decision about the commitment involved in baptism.
**Asipistra/b] - We don’t see baptism as a chance to show a commitment to a new faith. If you were baptized while in a different faith and choose to join the Catholic church, you aren’t re-baptized. However, there is a public ceremony for First Communion and Confirmation which allows your Church family and your RL family to celebrate with you.
I am trying to tell my brother this, and for the most part he is listening. I am 32 years old and am a happy father of two and five year boys. Mrs.Phlosphr and I both agreed on not baptizing the children and letting them make their own decisons when they are old enough. We were both raised Catholic and were both confirmed. However, we are not practicing and have not for over 15 years.
We occctionally visit the unitarian church but with no regularity.
Velma said:
Well try telling that to someone in the Catholic church. Case in point, people who are married in the Catholic church and who divorce after say 10-15 years and who have children together are considered still married in the Catholic Churches eyes. Even after they divorce. Having gone through a nasty divorce between my own parents, and having a father who tried to get an annulment after 20 years of marriage. Trust me the Catholic church is quite stringent when it comes to who is a lifelong member and who isn’t. The annulment was not granted – of course – and even though he is married to someone else – civil service – the church still recognizes that he is married to my mother still.
It’s shakey ground when dealing with Catholic Doctrine. That is the very reason why my brother is at a loss right now between baptism and not.
You’re right, Phlosphr, I should have qualified my statement by saying I do not have firsthand knowledge of the Catholic Church.
As far as the concept of original sin goes, am I misunderstanding, or does the Catholic Church believe that original sin means babies who are not baptized are condemned? My church also teaches original sin, that we are all born sinful, but that Jesus’ death cleanses all our sins, past, present, and future, so there is no “time limit”, our original sin is already wiped clean. So we don’t believe a baby must be baptized or a person must be of an age of reason to go to heaven if he dies.