Catechism Corner | Infant Baptism (1)

Obligation of Infant Baptism

"Baptism, the gateway to the sacraments, is necessary for salvation, either by actual reception or at least by desire. By it, people are freed from sins, are born again as children of God and, made like to Christ by an indelible character, are incorporated into the Church" (can. 849). The Catholic Church has been baptizing babies ever since Christ commanded His apostles to baptize all people in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (see Mt 28:18-20).

Parents bring their babies to the waters of baptism by professing a belief in Christ on behalf of the child, and promising to raise him or her in the faith.Because baptism confers saving grace, the earlier a person comes to baptism, the better.

In infant baptism, then, though the child is too young to have faith, the parents extend their faith on the child's behalf. On what basis does the Church believe that the faith of one person may be effective on behalf of someone else? The Scriptures are full of examples in which Jesus extends healing grace to people based on the faith of others.

For example, Jesus forgives the sins of the paralytic based on the faith of those who brought him (see Mt 9:2; Mk 2:3-5).Jesus heals the centurion's servant based on the faith of the centurion (Mt 8:5-13).Jesus exorcises the child's unclean spirit based on the father's faith (Mk 9:22-25).We might also note that in the Old Testament, God spares the firstborn child's life during the Passover based n the parent's faith (see Ex 12:24-28).Given these examples, then, we must ask ourselves:If God is willing to effect spiritual and physical cures for children based upon the faith of their parents, how much more will He give the grace of baptism to children based upon the faith of their parents?

Infant Baptism – no violation of the child's freedom

In recent years, some people have objected that baptizing infants is an obstacle to their freedom.They say it is contrary to the dignity of children as persons to impose on them future religious obligations that they may perhaps later reject.In this view, they insist, it would be better to confer the sacrament only at an age when free commitment has become possible; until then parents and teachers should restrain themselves and avoid exercising any pressure.

Rejecting this view, the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in the "Instruction on Infant Baptism" which it issued on 20 October, 1980, pointed out that "there is no such thing as pure human freedom, immune from being influenced in any way. Even on the natural level, parents make choices for their child that are essential for its life and for its orientation towards true values. A so-called neutral attitude on the part of the family with regard to the child's religious life would in fact be a negative choice that would deprive the child of an essential good" (n. 22).

Fr. Antonius David Tristianto, O.Carm.