Dear Anonymous,

Rebaptism is not necessary (or even possible). You need to go to the sacrament of Reconciliation and confess what you've done, and you will be received and welcomed back into the Church.

This does not change your goddaughter or godparent relationships.

Eric

Dear Friend,

Thanks for the question.  

To be reinstated as a Catholic in the state of grace and in good standing in the Church, and to nullify the automatic excommunication you incurred by renouncing your faith, you must see a priest for Confession.  The fact that you had inner reservations about the act you committed in public does not absolve you of the sin.  Jesus was plain when he said:

This is known as apostasy, the abandoning of the faith.  You will also have to make a public confession of faith, to undo the public renunciation.  You must realize how serious this sin is and the license you gave to Satan, who is the ultimate rejector of Christ.  With a sin of this magnitude you must be very serious about making it right. Counsel with a good priest is in order.

As far as Baptism goes, that is an unrepeatable Sacrament and it cannot be redone, nor does it need to be redone.  The mark of Baptism will shine again when you return to the fold through the door of repentance and penance.  You will also be able to be a Godparent.  We make mistakes all the time out of foolishness, ignorance, pressure, and all kinds of reasons, but public renunciation of Christ is no simple mistake, it is like pointing a gun at an innocent and pulling the trigger, then saying, "I didn't know it was loaded."  There is no amount of rationale that can explain it, justify it, or white wash it. You just have to own it and fix it.

I hope you are able to do all this soon and once again be back in the bosom of the Church Christ gave us to feed us, save us and help others.

Peace,

Bob Kirby