Judge Bork, baptized at 76

U.S. News & World Report ^ | 7/22/03 | Paul Bedard With David LaGesse

[nickcarraway]

It may be a little late to start for most, but Robert Bork, the former Supreme Court nominee who has written books decrying the decline of Western culture, has just been baptized. Rev. C. John McCloskey, who represents the conservative and activist Opus Dei arm of the Roman Catholic Church and oversaw the baptism, said, "I can confirm that he was received in the Catholic Church." Bork, a scholar with the conservative American Enterprise Institute, was raised a Protestant and had called himself a "generic Protestant." He was known more for his conservative legal views, which some Democrats used to shoot down his court nomination during the Reagan administration.

In a brief interview, he said that years of "conversations and reading" led him to baptism at McCloskey's small Catholic Information Center chapel on K Street near the White House. "There's more to talk about than you can put in a brief story." He called himself a regular Catholic who attends Sunday mass, not an Opus Dei member.

He said talks with and recommendations from the priest, as well as attending church with his wife, Mary Ellen Bork, a former nun, helped pave the way to the ceremony.

Bork's sponsors were Kate O'Beirne, a conservative media star, and John O'Sullivan, head of UPI.

Lots of other prominent Catholics were there, such as columnist and speechwriter Peggy Noonan, herself a convert.

McCloskey has made several other high-level conversions of conservatives, bringing into the Catholic Church conservative columnist Robert Novak and Republican Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas.

The best part of getting baptized at 76, said Bork: "If you get baptized at my age, all of your sins are forgiven. And that's very helpful."

According to Archdiocese of Washington Communications Director Susan Gibbs, Msgr. William Awalt, the longtime pastor of the Borks, baptized the judge, confirmed him and gave him First Communion. Father McCloskey celebrated the Mass, along with Msgr. Peter Vaghi, pastor of St. Patrick's.

[DannyTN]

The thief on the cross next to Jesus wasn't baptized, but was saved nevertheless.

Baptism is a command, which we should honor and any saved should want to honor it. However baptism doesn't save you as the thief on the cross illustrates. It is faith in Jesus and faith alone that saves you.

[Reo]

"This thing is a MARKET SHARE thing. Catholics are up to cature lost market share to the protestants. Score one for the Catholics"

Actually, you can score a lot more than one. Catholic Church membership in the US has increased by approximately 10,000,000 (from approx. 50 mil to approx 60 mil) in just the past decade. Compare that to total Episcopal membership of approximately 2.5 million and total Evangelical Lutheran Church membership of 5.3 million, both of which are either flat-lining or declining in numbers.

[nickcarraway]

Peggy Noonan is Catholic, but I don't know if she is a convert. Her articles frequently talk about Catholicism, especially Our Lady of Guadalupe.

[piasa]

The Catholic church recognizes the prior baptism, but he may not have had one, or may not be sure he had one; perhapd there is no formal record of it.

My sister was baptised by a Catholic nun since she was near death when born. It didn't matter that we were Lutheran - the Lutheran church recognized the baptism as fact, and she later grew up and was confirmed in the Lutheran church. The Word is more than good enough to overcome denominational differences- or the depth or purity of any water used in the sacrament.

[Regulator]

Catholic Church membership in the US has increased by approximately 10,000,000 (from approx. 50 mil to approx 60 mil) in just the past decade

Mostly due to Mexican illegal immigration.

[mdmathis6]

I don't think Chewbacca was Catholic baiting...it would be a question asked of a methodist or Episopalian convert. The Biblical pattern was that people confessed Christ first and asked forgiveness...then they were Baptized. Some people really believe that the act of Baptism is the saving of a soul. It is the confession of Christ as Saviour that ultimately saves you.

The believing thief on the cross was not Baptized...he was saved by his faith...by his request that Christ remember him when Christ should "come into his kingdom". Christ replied that"he would be with him in Paradise"! There were no last rites performed on this thief...his body was probably tossed into the Valley of Kidron(a big garbage and dead body dump back then). But he was saved!

Don't be so sensitive...Chewbacca wasn't saying that there are no saved Catholics!

[AD from SpringBay]

The Catholic Church does not normally baptize by aspersion.

The Catholic church does not normally immerse by sprinking.

[Thorondir]

Your way of thinking did not arise until nearly fifteen hundred years AFTER Christ. Think about that.

And baiting was EXACTLY what he was doing.

[wideawake]

The Catholic Church does not baptize by "sprinkling" - is that simple enough English for you?

[haole]

Where in the Bible does it say that he was not Baptized? Catholics do recognize Baptism by Desire-wanting Jesus into your life.

[utahagen]

I think Bork was being facetious.

[mdmathis6]

It is funny you don't mention the evangelical, pentecostal, and the conservative break offs from the Liberal main line protestant churches. The super growing mega evangelical churches seem to be left out of your equations as well!

[InvisibleChurch]

It may be a little late to start for most,

it's never too late

[utahagen]

The Catholic Church recognizes most Christian baptisms. However, some Protestant denominations don't baptise infants, so perhaps Bork was never baptised for that reason. Also, some of the more loosey-goosey COngregationalist Churches play down the sacramental element of baptism so much that being baptised is very casual. Perhaps there was a ceremony that Bork himslef is unsure "counted", so the Church conditionally rebaptised him, which they do sometimes when the person may have been baptised before.

[haole]

paul writes that Baptism is the Circumcision of Christ, something his audience completely understood- Jewish babies were circumcised into their faith on the 8th day after their birth.

Please tell me when Abraham was justified?

When the friends of the paralytic lowered him into Peter's house throught the roof, did Jesus say the paralytic was "cured" ( that his sins ere forgiven ) becuase of his faith? No, it was because of the faith of those who brought him. Did Jesus cure the young girl of her illness becasue fo her faith, no, it was becasue of the faith of her father. Similarly the Centurion, and many others. when Philip came across the Eunuch-the Eunuch was reading scripture just as you guys do, but was not able to understand it ( " ), until Philip helped him, kind of like the Church's Magesterium does. Then what? Philip Baptized him.

[mdmathis6]

Let's not get mystically technical...we are talking about a physical act here..ya know sprinkling, pouring, emersion, ect. The thief's body was unceremoniously dumped in a heap some-place...as the Romans did it back then! No priest to administer sacraments at that time!
If you want to say his heart was washed clean by the blood of Jesus and Baptized with God's spirit..why you are going to be right about that as well...it is this renewing of the inner man and indwelling of the spirit that saved the thief, his faith in who he knew Christ to be is what saved his soul!

[haole]

You mean that you can tell me that the "good thief" did not ge baptized by Jesus before he caught caught? After John "baptized " Jesus, Jesus Himself went and Baptized others, then, as written in John, declared unless "you are born again of the water and the Spirit"....both became obvious when at Jesus Baptism, the SPirit flew down to HIm,. and once again, God the Father sent His Spirit above the waters..( Gen. ).

[haole]

But some are not valid, to wit the Mormons use sort of those words, but "their Jesus" is not the Jesus of the Bible. Jesus said: " John 17:5
And now glorify thou me, O Father, with thyself, with the glory which I had, before the world was, with thee. ". So Jesus was with the One God before time itself. The Mormons only believe in a "jesus" for our world, and that there are thousands of other "jesuses" existing elsewhere in the universe.

[DannyTN]

"Where in the Bible does it say that he was not Baptized? Catholics do recognize Baptism by Desire-wanting Jesus into your life"

He's up on a cross. There is no record of him being baptized. He admits to being a thief and deserving of the Cross. There is absolutely no reason to believe the man was baptized. The only thing the guy does is in his own way acknowledges that Jesus is the Lord and asks Jesus for mercy.

Acts 2:21 - And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

It's not the desiring, it's not the baptism, it's the asking.