Hi Mason & Teo, I have an 8-month-old daughter and I’m not married yet. My girlfriend and mother of my daughter goes to a Bible Church and I’m Catholic. We’ve been discussing about whether to baptize our daughter in the Catholic Church or dedicate her at a Bible Church. My girlfriend feels that our daughter must make her own decision to be baptized, so her church dedicates their babies and baptize them at a later age when they can understand. Can you tell me what the difference is? (Limbo in Pearl City)

Dear Limbo, We understand that some Protestant churches practice a “believer’s baptism” in which adults and children must make a declaration of their personal faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior. Infants can’t make that personal declaration, so these churches strongly encourage parents to recognize the birth of an infant by dedicating the baby in homes that have come to the knowledge of Christ. As a scriptural foundation, they cite the Old Testament practice of bringing the first born to the Lord (Exodus 13:2) as practiced by Joseph and Mary with Jesus in Luke 2:23.

However, for Catholics, to be baptized is to be born into God’s family. The Lord himself affirms that baptism is necessary for salvation (John 3:5). Although Jesus Christ was without sin, he too chose to be baptized in order to “fulfill all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:15) It is the right thing to do.

Your daughter did not ask to be born into this world. You and your girlfriend chose for it to happen. You, therefore, must accept the responsibility of raising this child into this earthly world. Why, then, would you choose to withhold from this child the gift of Baptism, being born into God’s family, the spiritual world?

Everyone is born with a fallen human nature. All need new birth in baptism in order to be freed from the power of darkness and brought into the realm of freedom as children of God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, a teaching tool of the church, states: “The church and the parents would deny a child the priceless grace of becoming a child of God were they not to confer Baptism shortly after birth.” (CCC 1250)

For all the baptized, children and adults, faith must grow after Baptism. Baptism is the gateway to life in the Spirit and the door that accesses the other sacraments. Your child will have the opportunity to declare her personal faith in the sacrament of Confirmation.

In regards to children who have died without baptism, we the church can only trust in the mercy of God. For God mercifully desires that all should be saved and Jesus Christ’s tenderness toward children gives us hope that there is a way to salvation for those who have died without baptism.

There are three baptisms that the church recognizes:

• Baptism by water and the Spirit which most of us have received;
• Baptism by blood, or martyrdom, in which one suffers death for the sake of the faith;
• Baptism by desire by someone ignorant of Jesus Christ who nevertheless seeks the truth and does the will of God according to his or her understanding of it.

We urge you to choose new life in Christ for your daughter.