Canon 868

Baptism of Child of Separated Parents

Scenario:
Sophia and James are divorced. They share custody of their 6-year-old son, Liam. Both
parents have different religious beliefs, with Sophia being Catholic and James identifying as non-
religious. The Catholic Church has always been an important part of Sophia's life, and she wishes
to have Liam baptized.

Question:
In the case of baptism of children when parents have separated, what can one parent do without
the consent of the other?

Opinion:
The questions of the baptism of infants, the refusal to baptize, the postponing of baptism have
been difficult pastoral issues in recent times. In response to this pastoral situation the
Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith issued the Instruction on Infant Baptism, Pastoralis actio,
October 20, 1980. It stated in no. 28:

Pastoral action regarding the baptism of infants must, in the concrete order, be governed by
two principles, the second of which is subordinate to the first. (1) Baptism, which is necessary for
salvation, is a sign and instrument of God's prevenient love which frees us from original sin and
gives us a share in the divine life: considered on its own merits, the gift of these blessings for
infants must not be put off. (2) Assurances must be given that this gift will be able to grow through
a genuine education in faith and Christian living, that the sacrament may attain its full "truth." As a
rule, these assurances are given within the Christian community. If, on the other hand, these
assurances are not really serious, that fact can be reason for postponing the sacrament. Finally, if it
is certain that there are no assurances, the sacrament must be denied.

The 1983 code addressed the came issues in canon 868 that states:

§1. For an infant to be baptized licitly:

1. that the parents or at least one of them or the person who legitimately takes their place
must consent;
2. there must be a founded hope that the infant will be brought up in the Catholic religion;
if such hope is altogether lacking, the baptism is to be delayed according to the prescriptions
of particular law after the parents have been advised of the reason.

§2 An infant of Catholic parents or even of non-Catholic parents is baptized licitly in danger of

death even against the will of the parents.

Canon 868, §1, 1° requires for a lawful baptism that at least one parent must consent to the
baptism. Therefore, when parents separate only one parent needs to request the baptism of the
child.
Pope Paul VI, in Matrimonia mixta, in 1970, said it was a matter of divine law that a parent is
obliged, insofar as possible, to have children baptized and brought up as Catholics. This obligation
for the Catholic parent exists regardless of what the other spouse thinks. Because of this
obligation, we have the mixed marriage promises that Catholics make according to canon 1125:
"the Catholic party is to declare that he or she is prepared to remove dangers of defecting from the
faith, and is to make a sincere promise to do all in his or her power in order that all the children be
baptized and brought up in the Catholic Church." The requirement is to do one's best to have the
children baptized. It is not an absolute promise, and so it is generally accepted that one should not
baptize the children if it would cause the breakup of the marriage.

However, canon 868, §1, 2º states that there must be a "founded hope" that the infant will be
brought up in the Catholic religion. Whether the "founded hope" exists will depend on the
particular circumstances in each case. The "founded hope" would usually be provided by at least
one of the parents, but others could provide it if that is possible.

Canon 867, §1 requires parents to take care that infants are baptized in the first few weeks
after birth. After parents have separated, it may be very revealing why a baptism of an infant has
not already taken place. In some situations, the non-baptism of the child may be an integral reason
for the separation. In other situations, getting a child baptized against the will of the other spouse
could be part of the general fighting going on between spouses after a separation. Pastoral
sensitivity is always necessary in handling these situations. It is reasonable for the priest to require
the spouse seeking baptism to discuss the matter with the other spouse. Baptizing children secretly
will only cause greater ill feeling and is likely to undermine any “founded hope”

If, after the parents separated, one parent has custody of the children for most the time, that
parent can clearly provide a "founded hope" that the children will brought up in the Catholic
religion. That parent can legitimately bring the children to be baptized even though the other
former spouse is opposed to it.
If, after the parents separated, one parent has access to the children for a day each weekend, that
parent even though the other parent is opposed to it, could bring children to Mass, have them
prepared for the reception of sacraments, and vide for their education in faith. If the parent is
committed to sharing his/her the with the children in this way, it would be legitimate to baptize the
children.

However, if, after the parents separated in a bitter separation and divorce, the ti-Catholic
mother with custody of the children lives hundreds of miles away from the father, then the father
cannot really provided a "founded hope" for the Catholic upbringing of the children. Effectively
the father has limited access to and influence over the children. It has to be explained to him that
the baptism must be delayed. One has to hope that when the children grow up and leave their
mother, they will have more contact with the father and/or other Catholics. Then they will be able
to make up their own minds to be baptized as Catholics.

In the exceptional circumstances of danger of death of a child, canon 867, §2 states the child
is to be baptized without delay. Canon 868, §2 makes it clear that this is a lawful action even if
both parents are opposed to it. While not obliging someone to baptize against the will of the
parents, this canon says it is lawful to do so, simply because the salvation of the child is more
important than any ill-feeling that may result from the baptism.

References

Code of Canon Law: Latin-English Edition. Washington, DC: Canon Law Society of
America, 1999.
John Paul, II, Pastoralis Actio, [Instruction on Infant Baptism], The Holy See. October 20,
1980.https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/
rc_con_cfaith_doc_19801020_pastoralis_actio_en.html
Paul VI, Matrimonia Mixta, [Apostolic Letter in the form of Motu Proprio on Mixed
Marriage], The Holy See, October 1, 1970.
https://www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/motu_proprio/documents/hf_p-vi_motu-
proprio_19700331_matrimonia-mixta.html