I PREFER TO WAIT... I AM ALLOWING MY CHILD TO DECIDE LATER WHETHER OR NOT HE WANTS TO BE BAPTIZED *** Parents occasionally delay baptizing their children. They say that they respect the freedom of their children. It happens that they scarcely understand the effects of baptism. For parents and godparents, the preparation for baptism always turns out to be profitable and we must congratulate the sacramental initiation teams, those who prepare them for baptism. Priests and preparation teams meet with the parents with kindness and cordiality. They know that the parents want the best for their children. All of the community is invited to rejoice with them and all baptisms should be a family celebration, fervent and festive. Grandparents wish that their grandchildren receive the blessing of divine life without delay. They are deeply saddened when the baptism is put off to a later date. They sometimes believe that they are responsible of a serious negligence. They should serenely discuss with the parents the suffering and the desire that they have. They are allowed to hope that one day the richness of baptism will be discovered. Then, baptized, the child, hopefully, will be raised as a Catholic so that baptism, a new birth, will have all the benefits. A young unbaptized person, having no concrete and sacramental bonds with the Church, risks even more of becoming prey of the sects. The Pope reminds us of the necessity of baptism and the age-old custom of baptizing the children. Also, the Code of Canon Law stipulates: “Parents are obliged to see that their infants are baptized within the first few weeks. As soon as possible after the birth, indeed even before it, they are to approach the parish priest to ask for the sacrament for their child, and to be themselves duly prepared for it. If the infant is in danger of death, it is to be baptized without any delay” (Can. 867). On October 20th 1980, the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith published the Instruction for the Baptism of Children. This Instruction, approved by the Pope, reminds us of the practice of the Church, from apostolic times in the eastern and in the western worlds, that of baptizing children. It is sufficient to mention the teaching of saints of the first centuries: Irenaeus, Augustine, Hippolytus, Cyprian, etc. The child, like all human beings, needs the salvation that only Jesus can bring. God calls him or her to become his child without delay. The gifts and spiritual dynamism placed in the subconscious of the very young will help and stimulate them as they grow up. To baptize a child is not an invasion of his freedom, not any more than having him born or in educating him of true values. To be deprived of baptism is to be deprived of something essential. Baptism provides access to the true freedom. It deposits in the heart of the child the seeds of faith and life eternal (Instruction). |