Note on Baptism

A person is free to abandon the Church if they so choose. What one cannot do, however, is erase their name from the Baptismal Register, because for the Church, the reception of this sacrament is a “foundational historical fact” that must be accurately recorded. From Baptism proceed all other sacraments, making it essential to verify whether it has been validly conferred.

This clarification was issued Thursday, 17 April, in a note dated 7 April and signed by the Prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, Archbishop Filippo Iannone, and its Secretary, Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta. Canon Law, the document states, “does not allow for the modification or deletion of entries in the Baptismal Register, except in cases of transcription errors.” The purpose of the register is to “provide certainty regarding particular acts, making it possible to verify their actual occurrence.” Thus, the register is “the objective verification of sacramental actions or events related to the sacraments historically carried out by the Church.”

The note affirms that “the sacraments received and the entries made do not in any way limit the free will of Christian faithful who, by an act of that same will, choose to leave the Church.” If someone does decide to leave, the register may include what is known as the “actus formalis defectionis ab Ecclesia Catholica,” a formal act of defection from the Catholic Church. The note specifies, “Even though the data contained in the Church’s registers cannot be deleted, in light of the interest of the person involved and all other relevant parties, it is permitted — at the simple request of the person concerned — to record their expression of will to leave the Church in the context of a formal hearing.”

The note also reaffirms that being baptized is an “objective condition” and that “a person who has already been baptized cannot be baptized again,” since such an act would be “simply invalid” from a sacramental point of view. The note refers to Canon 869, which does not represent a case of re-administering Baptism, but rather allows a minister to confer Baptism sub conditione — conditionally — if there is “doubt whether a person, usually an infant, has in fact been baptized.” In these situations, “there is no new administration of Baptism, since the minister conditions the efficacy of the act on the non-existence of a prior valid Baptism.”