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Category Archives: Baptism
Why is This Method of Baptizing Illicit?
Q: I have recently discovered that my Presbyterian baptism was invalid (improper matter—baptizing with no flowing water). No investigation was done at the time of my conversion [to Catholicism], only a request for a baptismal certificate and so it was … Continue reading
Posted in Baptism, Canonical Issues Involving Non-Catholics, Sacraments
Tagged baptism, canon law, Catholic, illicit, sprinkling, valid
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Can a Lapsed Catholic Be a Godparent?
Q1: Is it written anywhere, or in any authoritative text from the Holy See (or Bishops Conference), that being in an irregular marriage bars one from being a godparent? The canon seems vague. One could argue that living in a … Continue reading
Posted in Baptism, Parish Life, Sacraments
Tagged baptism, canon law, Catholic, godparent
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Adopting Children of Another Faith (Eastern Churches, Part II)
Q: Although my husband and I are Roman Catholics, we have attended a Byzantine parish for many years. We adopted four children as infants from Eastern Europe. The orphanage director gave us their baptismal certificates written in Russian, and told … Continue reading
Posted in Baptism, Canonical Issues Involving Non-Catholics, Confirmation, Sacraments
Tagged adopt, baptize, canon law, Catholic, chrismate, eastern
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What Happens if Catholic Parents Have Their Child Baptized in a Non-Catholic Church?
Q: My sister-in-law recently baptized her youngest daughter in a Presbyterian church. She is Catholic, her husband is non-denominational, and he is uneasy with the Catholic Church although they were married in a Catholic ceremony. My father-in-law insists “a baptism … Continue reading
Posted in Baptism, Canonical Issues Involving Non-Catholics, Sacraments
Tagged baptism, canon law, Catholic, RCIA
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Laypeople Can Always Baptize–But When Should They?
Q: My son was married to a non-Catholic girl for 7 years, and they have three boys. Just after she gave birth to the third, my daughter-in-law snapped and ran out on my son, taking the children with her and … Continue reading
Posted in Baptism, Parish Life, Sacraments
Tagged baptize, canon law, Catholic, Edgar Mortara, laypeople
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