In the olden days (of my youth), a Catholic hospital might have the priest baptize a dying baby. I doubt that would happen today.
If you are not a believer what does it matter? It is just a bath in your mind set. As long as it physically nor mentally invasive (I doubt babies could be affected emotionally) then who cares. I’d be more concerned about the quality/level of care under obamacare guidelines.
Legally? I don’t know.
I do know that when the time came for my husband’s dad to allow him to be baptized into the Catholic church he refused. So my mother-in-law and her mother “baptized” him in the kitchen sink.
He chose to be baptized and joined the Baptist church in his late teens.
If the parents were baptized against their wishes, would that make them Catholics? Or just wet Jews?
This seems like agitprop to make Catholics look bad and create animosity.
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I think an important issue also is what if someone puts a curse or magic spell on your baby at a doctors office. Or in the supermarket. Or puts magic dust on them.
1) Baptism by a priest doesn’t make a baby “Catholic” anymore than circumsizing a kid makes him a Jew
In fact my Catholic kids were baptized by a Methodist minister, A Christian baptism is a Christian baptism
2) If you don’t believe in the ritual of sprinkling water on a child, why fear it? They think Jahweh will be displeased? If the kid is that sick, is that their main worry so to not take them to the hospital?
1) Baptism by a priest doesn’t make a baby “Catholic” anymore than circumsizing a kid makes him a Jew
In fact my Catholic kids were baptized by a Methodist minister, A Christian baptism is a Christian baptism
2) If you don’t believe in the ritual of sprinkling water on a child, why fear it? They think Jahweh will be displeased? If the kid is that sick, is that their main worry so to not take them to the hospital?
They used to baptize them then take the child! Sort of how the Muslims in Egypt claim a young woman converted so now they can take her from her family.
Take it for what it is; an act of love. I would not object to a prayer for the dying being said by a Rabbi (or any faithful Jew) over myself or any relative.
Interesting legal question. Probably no statutes on the point since it is, well, weird. Can they? Probably. Should they? Absolutely not. It should be the parents call.
It really doens’t matter if you baptize a baby WITH or WITHOUT parental consent.
Nothing spiritual happens. You just end up with a wet baby.
(Catholics are now free to flame away)
Right?
Sorry folks, the universe was not created by an infinitely evil boogie man.
The better question might be — why in the world would anyone baptize a child without the parents’ consent?
Baptism is a conscious choice. You cannot be baptized against your will, anymore than I can force you to believe in unicorn’s, fairies, or leprechaun’s. You can consecrate a baby, or a young child, to be an instrument of God, but unless they have an understanding, it just isn’t a baptism.
Excuse me, but with all due respect for whatever religion one might be, here is the kicker. We ALL SAY we believe that G-d is omnipotent, then refuse to acknowledge that claim while waging religious warfare amongst factions. G-d is justice. The first, last, and final justice. NOTHING man does will change that. Nothing.
The involuntary baptism and then effective kidnapping of children (because the new “christian” child could not be raised by evilll Jooooos) was a standard practice of Roman Catholics for years.
Indeed, it was an organized effort for some centuries.
The last case was in 1858 in Italy, where a maid who hated the Jewish family she worked for claimed to have baptised their son Edgardo Mortara, and the Pope himself participated in the kidnapping and brainwashing of the child against his parents.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgardo_Mortara
So, it’s not exactly a far-fetched fear.
When I was leaving the hospital with each baby, I was given a little packet that included a card that indicated a baptism had taken place and a St. Christopher's medal for each baby.
At first, I was upset as I am not a Catholic nor was I asked for permission for the baptism and told them so.
Later, I determined that as I am not Catholic, nor do I believe I infant baptism (what can a new born "repent" of), the baptism meant absolutely nothing here or in Heaven.
Well, I read the article. It appars the Roman Catholics do permit forced baptism at hospitals:
“If Jewish parents are (understandably!) opposed to the notion that their child might be baptized in a Catholic hospital, the hospital staff CAN honor their wishes, even if the child is at death’s door. At the same time, as we’ve just seen, canon law DOES NOT REQUIRE Catholic hospital workers to defer to the wishes of a dying child’s parents. The staff is PERMITTED by the law to perform an emergency baptism in danger of death . . . .”
Well, I guess it matters less since they don’t support kidnapping -— yet.
The very question itself indicates an error in understanding scripture. Baptism does nothing in and of itself.