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William
Urtz
wrote:
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Hi, guys —
My daughter is a baptized and confirmed Catholic.
She has married and now lives in Denver.
She is not a practicing Catholic and her husband
is not a Catholic. They would like to have
her child baptized in our home church.
- Is there any reason why she can't?
Thank You,
William
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{
Can my daughter's child be baptized if my daughter isn't faithful and her husband isn't Catholic? }
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Paul
replied:
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Dear William —
To summarize:
a. Your daughter is not a practicing
Catholic.
b. Her husband is also not Catholic.
c. She wants to have her baby
baptized.
Wouldn't logic demand a question:
It is very important that her baby
be baptized, but also just as important
for him or her to be brought up in
the faith; especially in today's
culture, where around every corner
there is something ready and willing
to destroy a young person's soul.
To answer your question, it would
be good to have her approach the
pastor of your home parish to inquire
about baptizing her baby. There will
probably be no problem.
If I were the pastor, I would ask
the obvious question:
- Why she would
like her baby baptized into a faith
that she, herself, does not believe
enough to practice?
That could be the start of a very
important conversation.
Paul
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Mary
Ann replied:
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William —
It is now the practice in most dioceses
to deny Baptism to children when
there is no well-founded reason to
believe they will not be raised in
the Faith.
Mary Ann
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William
replied:
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Dear Paul and Mary Ann —
It appears she cares and wants to
do what is right for the child.
- Isn't it important for the baby
to be free of original sin in
the Catholic Church?
As a family, they are not without
Christian beliefs. They are a typical
young family and their current predicament
is more likely because there are
two religion's involved. She will
follow the father's Lutheran faith,
if the child is not baptized in the
Catholic Church.
William
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Mary
Ann replied:
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I'm with you, William,
But the U.S.
bishops have decided otherwise. It is a pastoral decision, not a
doctrinal one, and it isn't very
pastoral, in my book.
The baptized child could lead them
back to the Faith.
Mary Ann
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