Pope Francis has continued a tradition with the baptism of small children and revealed that the written church laws do not seem to have to be taken so seriously. Infant baptism, a simple ritual, but packed with philosophies far removed from the gospel.
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Pope Francis sprinkled
Last Sunday was the “Feast of the Baptism of the Lord” in the Roman Catholic Church. Traditionally since 1981 under Pope John Paul II, the Pope puts himself in the limelight on this occasion by “baptizing” small children and infants himself. In the Sistine Chapel on Sunday, the pontiff lent his hand again and sprinkled water on a total of 16 small children, according to the Catholic News Agency (CNA).
Baptism is “the most beautiful gift” that parents can give their children, Pope Francis said during the baptismal rituals. With this baptism the babies are given the gift of faith. The people being baptized are the “protagonists of this ceremony,” said the Pope, “they can speak, they can walk, they can shout.” This is their celebration and they will receive “the most beautiful gift, the gift of faith, the gift of the Lord.”
These people being baptized are role models because they give evidence of how to accept faith “with innocence, with openness of heart”, said the pontiff.
Significantly, Pope Francis used a shell-shaped cup to pour water over the heads of the infants being baptized.
In advance, Archbishop and President of the Governor of the Vatican City State, Vérgez Alzaga, helped dress the candidates for baptism in white clothes. The white robe is a symbol of “putting on Christ” and the resurrection with the Lord.
The Roman Catholic Church defines this ritual, known as baptism, as the basis for the entire Christian life. Baptism opens the door to life in the spirit and the door for access to other sacraments.
Not all parents are able to subject their child to this ritual. The prerequisites are the employment relationship with the Vatican, the child’s age of less than 1 year and the parents’ church marriage.
Talking & Confessing Infant
Apparently the Pope speaks however he feels like it. Calling babies or infants less than 1 year old as role models for the open-hearted acceptance of faith is not only very daring, but even contradicts the company’s own canon law. As a “rational person of good will”, you don’t actually need to use legal texts to show that an infant is incapable of understanding a belief, let alone proclaiming it as a witness.
This is what the Church’s law says in Cann. 97:
§ 2. A minor before the completion of the seventh year is called an infant and is considered not responsible for oneself (non sui compos). With the completion of the seventh year, however, a minor is presumed to have the use of reason.
Of the Pope’s statement, “They can speak, they can walk, they can shout,” only the last characteristic applies without reservation. The actual immaturity of the person being baptized in infancy or as a baby is indeed recorded in canon law, but the Pope generously ignores it in his love of “swelled words”. A speaking adult who has even walked to the baptism himself will not receive his baptism if he simply screams.
Cann. 865:
“§ 1. For an adult to be baptized, the person must have manifested the intention to receive baptism, have been instructed sufficiently about the truths of the faith and Christian obligations, and have been tested in the Christian life through the catechumenate. The adult is also to be urged to have sorrow for personal sins.“
Baptism is incorporation into legal circles
The (Catholic) baptism is “the greatest gift” of the parents, said the pontiff with the address to the guardianship of the according to Can. 96 minors to be baptized. Depicted as if the splashes of water on the child’s head led to his active and conscious belief. In reality, the parents’ gift consists in the fact that they, as guardians, hand over their own child to the legal system and thus to the legal reach of the church. With all the consequences.
Cann. 96:
“By baptism one is incorporated into the Church of Christ and is constituted a person in it with the duties and rights which are proper to Christians in keeping with their condition, insofar as they are in ecclesiastical communion and unless a legitimately issued sanction stands in the way.“
Roman Law & Natural Law
This ecclesiastical set of rules reflects the Roman Catholic “intermediate thing” between Roman law and Hellenistic natural law. Nobody has the right to rise above another person. Freedoms, yes, but only as long as the rights of another person are not restricted. People do not have legal capacity and therefore cannot be prosecuted by a legal circle (legal person, fiction). But this is possible if the person voluntarily submits to this legal system, or if this submission of a minor is carried out by the guardian. This is what happens with baptism, as stated in Cann. 96 is described in detail.
Therefore, the accusation of heresy only applies to people who were baptized as Catholics and who submitted to this set of rules either openly or through deception. Very early on, the Church of Rome arranged for even (underage) small children to be handed over to the jurisdiction of the Church as quickly as possible. To ensure that this was done “voluntarily”, the “clergy” invented a special “semi-hell” (limbo) for deceased, unbaptized children. Of course, a horror idea for loving parents. Pope Benedict XVI simply “abolished” this fantasy thanks to his “divine authority” in April 2007.
A single verse of the Bible is enough to refute the Roman Catholic nonsense about infant baptism and the threat of limbo, Matthew 19:14:
“But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.“
The Roman Catholic tradition that the little child in the white baptismal gown dressed Jesus Christ is also “somewhat disorientating.” Water baptism without the baptism of the Spirit (Holy Spirit) is meaningless. Baptism with the Holy Spirit led to the profession of faith, which the infant cannot accomplish. In addition, the Church of Rome tells something about original sin, an invention in the 4th century. According to this heresy, even a newly born child is afflicted with sin (except Mary). This “necessarily requires baptism” for cleansing. A real concentrate of nonsense in just a few aspects.
Revealed pride
Baptism opens the doors to other sacraments, according to another claim made by Francis in this church. A sacrament is an institution for human salvation. According to the Gospel, these sacraments represent, for example, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. A commission from Jesus Christ. However, the church did not find this satisfactory and simply defined additional sacraments, bringing the total to seven. According to another invention of this church, people cannot be saved without the sacrament of “Holy Mass”. Since only Catholic baptism opens the way to the other sacraments, the church pretends to be able to decide on people’s salvation. According to the Roman Catholic understanding, no one comes to the Father unless they choose the path of the Church, Mary and Jesus. Rome could allow or deny.
Finally, this type of baptism, as adopted by the Protestant churches, does not represent baptism according to the Gospel and therefore cannot symbolize the death and resurrection with Jesus Christ (Info).
A shell mug – open to interpretation
The shell, or scallop, whose shape the cup used by Pope Francis had, symbolizes, according to Catholic standards, the virgin Mary and her “conception of divine grace”. In paganism, the shell is known as a symbol of fertility and this in relation to the “goddess” Venus”. Since the parallels between the Catholic depicted Mary and the ancient Egyptian “goddess” Isis are astonishing, the actual pagan background to this used lies Shell shape much closer (Info). This is actually proven because there is nothing about it in the Gospel.
Flexibility at the highest level
It is astonishing that the supposedly simple process of these so-called baptisms carried out by the Pope can reveal so much that is contradictory and, above all, far removed from the gospel. However, this is part of the usual Roman Catholic tradition (Info). Another insight is that the simple (baptized) believer must not deviate from the catechism one bit and not go beyond church law by an inch in order not to have to suffer severe sanctions. But at the highest level, extremely generous flexibility is being demonstrated in this regard. And no one cares.
The Pope did not take the Holy Spirit into account anyway (Info):
I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.
Mark 1:8
Bible verses from King James Version
