Thank you. I covet your prayers. I need them to get over the pain that was caused me by Catholics.
I have a friend whose baby died before it was baptized. Their priest told them that the baby was in hell.
They’ve never been back to the Catholic church.
The material that guides me is the Holy Bible. If that concerns you, then I, too, hope you find Truth.
I sense a significant error or misconception here. I would hate for your or your friend's relationship with the Church to have been damaged by a falsehood.
There has NEVER been a time when the Church professed that an unbaptized baby would go to hell. Even the concept of "limbo", (limbus infantium) a speculative and undefined state, has never been official doctrine or dogma.
If that is what a priest told them then the priest, not the Church. was in grave error and they had an obligation to God, to themselves, and to the Church to address it to the parish pastor, the bishop or even another priest or deacon. If your friends believed that what the priest was telling them was the doctrine of the Church then they were extremely poorly catechized.
The actual doctrine of the Church is expressed in two articles of the Catechism:
1261 - As regards children who have died without Baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus' tenderness toward children which caused him to say: "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them," allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent is the Church's call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy Baptism.
1283 - With respect to children who have died without Baptism, the liturgy of the Church invites us to trust in God's mercy and to pray for their salvation.
Lastly, you said in an earlier post that you had been abused by the Church, implying that you were Catholic. Why didn't you correct your friend?
I have a friend whose baby died before it was baptized. Their priest told them that the baby was in hell.
Oh my. I don’t often cry, but you made me. That was a freaking HORRIBLE thing for the Father to say, and, if you will excuse me, total rubbish.
The Word is “Suffer the children to come unto me.” No man, woman or priest can get between God and the innocent.
That ain’t man’s law, that is THE LAW.
I asked my Priest - and he is getting annoyed about the phone calls!
Sorry friend but a Catholic priest saying a baby would go to hell is completely against Catholic doctrine. Since our priests have years of theology training along with academic training I find that impossible to believe. Not saying you are lying, just that a real Catholic priest could not even believe it much less say it. I do believe that lost lay people would repeat that myth. That comment may have come from a lay person, but not a priests.