Whats the difference.......?

[JD27076]

What is the difference in a protestant family starting a church and baptizing their own baby wi the correct formula..

And a Catholic family baptizing their own baby with the correct formula?

If a group of people can baptize validly just because they plop down a sign in front of barn...why can't a Good, Devout Catholic family baptize their own child?

Opinons?
Thanks.

[Phemie]

Originally Posted by JD27076

What is the difference in a protestant family starting a church and baptizing their own baby wi the correct formula..

And a Catholic family baptizing their own baby with the correct formula?

If a group of people can baptize validly just because they plop down a sign in front of barn...why can't a Good, Devout Catholic family baptize their own child?

Opinons?
Thanks.

The Catholic family is bound by Canon Law which says they can't do that. The non-Catholic family is under no such constraints.

[littlenothing]

But any baptized christian can in the case of necessity. Nuns used to do that when they worked at hospitals all the time, so I am told. Its so sad they're apparently gone now. You never see a nun in a hospital or school...sorry...digressing...

[tee_eff_em]

Originally Posted by littlenothing

But any baptized christian can in the case of necessity.

In the case of necessity, even a non-baptized non-Christian can administer baptism.

tee

[Tantum ergo]

Originally Posted by tee_eff_em

In the case of necessity, even a non-baptized non-Christian can administer baptism.

tee

You're absolutely correct.

But I think what the OP is saying is why does a Catholic "Have to" have the child baptized in Church as the 'norm', whereas supposedly nonCatholic Christians can baptize anywhere (although even there, I think the majority of nonCatholic Christians have baptisms in their churches, or the baptisms might be done in a river but are done by the pastor, not by their parents.)

In any case, the NORM is for a Catholic child to be baptized in a Catholic Church.

And even if the OP's 'nonCatholic Christian parents' 'started their own church', well, that would make the parents (one of them anyway) the pastor of the church, right? And even if the church was in their home, it would still be technically a church, by their definition, right?

So the baptism would still be done by a leader of a church, in a church. . .

Not all that different from Catholic baptism after all.

[YoungTradCath]

Sacramentally there is no difference. The difference is that Catholics are bound by Papal authority to obey Canon Law.