Conditional Baptism And The Pauline Privilege

[JenDeMaria]

I recently sponsored a catechumen who was able to have her 2nd marriage recognized by the Church due to the Pauline Privilege. She had married her first husband in the Mormon Church which does not recognize the divinity of Christ... therefore, she and her husband were not baptized according to the Trinitarian formula and though they had divorced prior to her conversion the Church applied 1 Corinthians 7:12-15 which simply said her first marriage had been invalid.

My question is this: what if both husband and wife believed themselves to be baptized Christians at the time of their marriage, divorced and then subsequently were conditionally baptized by the Catholic Church because there was not enough evidence for the first baptisms? Would this qualify for a Pauline Privilege?

[Theoketos]

It depends on a slue of other circumstances, but probably so due to the practical and sorrowful state of most unions today.

[cappie]

It doesn't matter what the people concerned believe, for a valid baptism in the Christian Church water must be used poured on the head at least and the Trinitarian formula spoken. We had a case here in Australia with a parish the refused to use the canonical form of the sacrament. There baptisms were ruled invalid.

Archbishop Bathersby's decision on St Mary's, South Brisbane:

....."For people concerned about the validity of Baptisms performed at St Mary’s in recent years, either for children or adults, the Archbishop will nominate a future date on which valid baptisms can be performed at the Cathedral and Baptism Certificates can be issued both to parents of the children or to adult converts.

The Archbishop said he had taken this decision reluctantly after changes he had repeatedly asked for had not been made by the administrator or the community.

“After a long period of prayer, reflection and discernment in which I gave consideration to both the pastoral needs of the parish and the importance of the parish’s communion with both the Archdiocese of Brisbane and the Universal Church, I have advised Fr Peter Kennedy that, unless he resigns beforehand, I will be cancelling his appointment from Saturday February 21, 2009 and appointing Fr Howell as Administrator of the Parish for the time being,” Archbishop Bathersby said."


"Former parishioner Nicky Dolton lost her daughter's baptismal certificate while moving house, but needed another one for her to be enrolled in a Catholic school.

When she requested a copy of the certificate from the Brisbane Archdiocese, it came back with a clause.

"It had a clause at the bottom basically stating that the baptism would need to be performed again to be valid if my daughter wanted to go on to receive confirmation or communion or be married in the Catholic Church," she said.

Brisbane Archdiocese Chancellor Father Adrian Farrelly says it is important to have a valid ceremony.

"People can have all sorts of convictions using all kinds of words but as they say if a priest officiating didn't pour the water and say the words in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit then baptism wasn't received," he said."

Edited May 8, 2011 by cappie