Hooray for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith! I used to say that quite often, but this is the first time I've said it since my favourite dicastery came under new management. Baptism 'conferred' with any other formula than Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is to be deemed, not doubtfully valid, but certainly invalid. CDF has said so.The CDF actually says,
CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH
RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS PROPOSED
on the validity of Baptism conferred with the formulas
«I baptize you in the name of the Creator, and of the Redeemer, and of the Sanctifier»
and «I baptize you in the name of the Creator, and of the Liberator, and of the Sustainer»
QUESTIONS
First question: Whether the Baptism conferred with the formulas «I baptize you in the name of the Creator, and of the Redeemer, and of the Sanctifier» and «I baptize you in the name of the Creator, and of the Liberator, and of the Sustainer» is valid?
Second question: Whether the persons baptized with those formulas have to be baptized in forma absoluta?
RESPONSES
To the first question: Negative.
To the second question: Affirmative.
The Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI, at the Audience granted to the undersigned Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, approved these Responses, adopted in the Ordinary Session of the Congregation, and ordered their publication.
Rome, from the Offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, February 1, 2008.
I think the question of what this does to the "ecumenical" movement is a very important one. The CofE is in discussion with our friends in the Catholic Church about working together in a closer relationship within our communities. But, if our union is a result of Christian baptism, then it would seem that the CofE and other Anglican bodies within the Communion will need to step up and say the same.Please leave an opinion in the comments about either the formula or the issue of ecumenism here. As one who theologically is committed to ecumenical discussions with the Catholic Churches of East and West, I find this sort of statement fundamental to our ongoing discussions.
3 comments:
Bishop Andrew Burnham of Ebbsfleet sent me the following and gave permission for the comment to be placed here on the blog.
+Andrew writes,
It seems to me that this is a serious situation not least for a very mundane reason: until the use of different formulae arose, denominations which baptized in the name of the Trinity were able to accept each other’s baptismal certificates. Those certificates did not necessarily specify the form of the Trinitarian formula and could be taken therefore at face value. We may now have to look for the formula to be specific on the certificate and indeed make further enquiries. That makes it likely that baptismal certificates will lose their mutual acceptability and possibly their hitherto innate value.
What may also prove difficult is accepting baptisms from within our own churches. What if someone in the CofE came from a church where someone used such form illegally?
A young woman knocks on the door of a Lutheran pastor, introduces herself as a member of a neighboring congregation, and tells the clergyman:
"My pastor baptized my baby last Sunday in the name of 'the Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier.' Is my baby going to hell?"
"No my dear," the pastor replied, "but your pastor most certainly is!"
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