Argentine prelate defends baptism of lesbian's child, raps media coverage
April 08, 2014
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An Argentine archbishop has criticized media coverage of the baptism of a child who is being raised by lesbians.
Archbishop Carlos Nanez of Cordoba said that the baptism of Umma Azul on April 5 was “like that of any other person who asks for baptism.” The child’s biological mother, who has entered into a same-sex union, did not speak with him before the ceremony, the archbishop said. But she did make a commitment to raise her daughter in the Catholic faith.
Archbishop Nanez said that the baptism was not an endorsement of the lesbian relationship. “The Church in that matter demonstrates that she is a merciful and wide-reaching mother, in order to open the doors of salvation,” he said.
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Posted by: geoffreysmith1 -
Apr. 09, 2014 8:53 AM ET USA
My nephew and his wife (both Catholics) were married outside the Church in a secular ceremony. The time came when they wished to have their daughter baptised, so they approached a priest. On learning of their marriage irregularity, he told them that, unless they married in the Church, their child could not be baptised. My nephew and his wife consented to this demand and were married with the sacrament in church. Their daughter was subsequently christened. This, of course, is the correct procedure, since it gives a better indication that the child will be brought up as a Catholic, rather than left to chance if the parents are not married. In this regard, I feel the Archbishop of Cordoba's opinion to be unfounded, and his view of the matter is based on wishful thinking. It follows, unfortunately, that the statement by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is also an example of the wish being father to the thought. In the final analysis, baptism is NOT a right, but a gift from God, given if the circumstances are strictly in accordance with the conditions laid down by the Church for a baptism to be valid, and I submit that, in the case of this Argentinian ceremony, they were not.
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Posted by: Chestertonian -
Apr. 09, 2014 12:38 AM ET USA
Despite the words of the archbishop, the media and the lesbians themselves will look on the baptism as a victory. They have used the child as a tool to chip away at the teachings of the Church. The response to the request for the sacrament should have been, "Yes, we'll baptize the child, just as soon as you reform your lives and raise the child in accord with Church teaching." The mother must decide which is more important, her illicit relationship or salvation.
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Posted by: -
Apr. 08, 2014 6:21 PM ET USA
Of course the child should be baptized. But, the child also needs to have the proper godparents as sponsors. This would, I presume, exclude any homosexuall person from being acceptable to the Church.
