This column was already written, and set for publication, before Pope Benedict’s resignation announcement on Monday. The next column–to be published a week from today, hopefully–will address issues pertaining to the upcoming conclave.
Q: Some Jewish people in my city complained to the local Catholic hospital, saying they were afraid to bring their sick children to the emergency room, because the hospital staff might baptize them. The hospital staff publicly agreed never to do this.
I had always assumed that you can’t baptize a baby without at least one parent’s consent, so I thought the hospital would simply say, “Don’t worry, we’re not allowed to do that anyway!” But the wording of the hospital administrators’ response seemed to suggest that they really could baptize a sick baby if they wanted to. Can a baby be baptized Catholic, even if the parents aren’t Catholic and don’t want the baptism? –Greg Continue reading
