Crowds make a faith committal PERTH, WA: NOVEMBER 27— DECEMBER 3,1980 TELEPHONE: (09) 328 1388
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V ATICAN MAKES CLEAR INFANT BAPTISM RULES VATICAN CITY: While reaffirming the tradition of infant baptism, a Vatican congregation has said that a request to baptize an infant should be refused if there is no assurance that the child will receive "an authentic education in the faith and Christian life." The document noted that, in some places, pastors think it better to delay baptism until an age when the individual can make a personal c ommitment, in some cases, until adulthood. Reviewing the Church's teaching iirough the ages, the document said 'Both in the East and in the West the practice of baptising infants is considered irule of immemorial tradition...when the first direct evidence of infant baptism ippears in the second century, it is never presented as an innovation." The document cited the teaching of arious popes and councils of the Church falling for the baptism of infants. Explaining this teaching, the document ecalled the words of Jesus telling the kpostles to teach all nations and baptise em. "Transmitting the faith and adminisring baptism are closely linked in this ommand of the Lord," the document id, "and they are an integral part of the hurch's mission, which is universal and .annot cease to be universal." This universal mission applies to nfants as well as to adults, it said.
ersonal Faith
"The fact that infants cannot yet pro'ess personal faith does not prevent the Church from conferring this sacrament on them, since in reality it is in her own faith that she baptises them," the docu['lent continued. Responding to various contemporary objections to the baptism of infants, the document said: • Baptism is not just a sign of faith but also a cause of faith. • A child is a person before it can tioN.v that by acts of consciousness and freedom and as a person is capable of becoming a child of God through
baptism. "Later, when consciousness and freedom awake, these will have at their disposal the powers placed in the child's soul by the grace of baptism." • Parents are not restricting a child's freedom by having the child baptised because "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 toward true values." Whether baptised or not, every individual is a creature with duties to God.
Two principles The document stated two principles to govern pastoral practice: • "Baptism, which is necessary for salvation, is the sign and means of God's...love, which frees us from original sin and communicates to us a share in divine life. Considered in itself, the gift of these blessings to infants must not be delayed. • "Assurances must be given that the gift thus granted can grow by an authentic education in the faith and Christian life in order to fulfill the true meaning of the sacraments. "As a rule these assurances are to be given by the parents or close relatives, although various substitutions are possible within the christian community. "But if these assurances are not really serious there can be grounds for delaying the sacrament — and if they are certainly non-existent the sacrament should even be refused." In the case of "believing families," the document stressed the desirability of having parents prepare for their role in the baptism and religious upbringing of the child well before the child's birth. Baptism should take place "within the first weeks after birth" or even sooner if the child is in danger of death, the document said.
In Supreme Court Gardens last Sunday night, the Feast of Christ the King, the lights were dimmed and thousands of candles came to light as Archbishop Goody led the big gathering in an act of commitment. He is pictured flanked b Cathedral clergy Fathers John Ryan and Joseph Walsh holding candles a s they recite the c ommitment: "Lord we want to commit ourselves this evening to God, through Scripture, through prayer, through the lawful authority of the Church and through the events of our life."
F AMILY LIFE FACES CRISIS
The Church has a lot to say about marriage but with the apparent crisis developing in family life, at least in the Western world, people are beginning to doubt what the Church is saying, Father Barry Hickey, director of Centrecare told the Christ the King gathering in Supreme Court gardens last Sunday night. "We need to say loudly and clearly what the Church has to say about family life and about Christian life in particular" he said referring to the theme of the Christian Family that was the subject of the recent Synod of Bishops in Rome. "There are disturbing things being said in the world around us and the voice of the Church must be heard. "Some are saying that marriage and family life is a denial of human rights, particularly of women who are said to have a subordinate role in marriage. "The Church says that if there is a denial of rights within marriage it is certainly not the idea of marriage that Christ spelt out. "Jesus made it quite clear that man and woman are equal partners in marriage, to be loved and respected by each other. "That division of roles does not imply inequality. It is a way of helping a family find love and stability. "In the world of today there are voices saying that sex must be liberated from its procreative outcome. Otherwise, they say, people are tied down by the threat of children.
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