How one handles an invalid baptism
In the Catholic Church, when a priest or deacon performs a baptism, he is supposed to say “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
When the language is altered, problems follow.
Father Jason Tyler, pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Fayetteville, graduated magna cum laude from Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 2004 with a bachelor of sacred theology and earned a license of sacred theology from Ateneo Regina Apostolorum in Rome in 2006, graduating summa cum laude.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette asked him about the theological ramifications of a botched baptism.
Q If someone in Arkansas discovers that they were baptized with an incorrect formulation, such as “We baptize you in the name of the Father …” is their baptism considered invalid?
A Yes.
Q If so, what is the practical effect of the baptism being invalid? What should they do to remedy the situation?
A In such a case, the person should speak with his/her parish priest, who should also report the matter to the diocese and seek guidance there. If it’s determined that the Baptism was invalid, the priest will need to administer Baptism as well as Confirmation since Confirmation can occur only after (a valid) Baptism. It could also affect the validity of a person’s marriage, ordination, or religious vows.
Q What if the person is uncertain whether the correct wording was used?
A The number of priests and deacons who have administered Baptism invalidly is very small. We always start with the presumption that Baptism was given validly unless there is evidence to the contrary.
For example, if someone has a video of his/her baptism using an invalid formula, we can be certain the person now needs to receive Baptism validly. If the person was baptized by a priest or deacon who is known to have administered baptism invalidly on other occasions, that would be reason enough to wonder about the situation.
The diocese would need to be informed in order to investigate the matter. It could ultimately result in the person receiving a conditional baptism. “Conditional baptism” is simply the term used when baptism is administered because of a doubt about whether the person was previously baptized or not.
Q And under Catholic doctrine, what is the effect of not being baptized and/or dying unbaptized?
A Catholic sacramental theology sees the sacraments, starting with Baptism, as instruments of God’s grace and personal encounters with Jesus. We can be certain that God’s grace is made present in the sacraments, but we know that God’s grace also works outside of the sacraments in ways beyond human understanding.
If a baptism was administered invalidly, we know that the sacrament of Baptism has not occurred, but that does not mean that God and God’s grace have been absent from that person’s life in other ways. If someone dies without Baptism, we entrust that person to the mercy of a loving God. If someone sincerely believed he/she was baptized but in fact was not, we have even more reason to trust in that grace of God acting outside of the sacraments.
Along these lines, the Church also believes in a “baptism of desire,” in which someone has a sincere desire for baptism and makes a perfect act of contrition and love for God, though for some reason is never baptized with water. A baptism of desire is also efficacious for a person’s eternal salvation.
Thus, although an invalid baptism by water would still require a new baptism by water to ensure that the sacrament has occurred, a person’s desire and the state of his/her soul is known to and judged by God alone.