Baptism In Contemporary Roman Catholic Thought

To implement reforms decided upon at the Second Vatican Council, the Roman Catholic church has restored the adult catechumenate as a preparation period for baptism and given it a prominent role in the church, alongside infant baptism. Like most other major Christian churches, the Roman Catholic church no longer insists on rebaptizing converts who have been baptized in water in the name of the Trinity in other churches.

The theology and celebration of baptism has undergone significant development in the twentieth century, largely as a result of the liturgical movement and developments in the areas of ecclesiology, and grace and sacramental theology. At the Second Vatican Council (1963–1965), the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy called for the reform of baptismal practice (par. 64–69), and the Decree on Ecumenism addressed baptism in an ecumenical context (par. 22). Conciliar reform resulted in two distinct rituals for baptism: for adults and children of catechetical age, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), and the Rite of Baptism for Children. The RCIA consists of a series of formational stages of preparation for baptism with accompanying rites and prayers to admit the baptismal candidate to each stage of preparation for baptism. The stages include: (1) the period of evangelization and precatechumenate, in which the inquirer first hears the gospel message and answers the call to conversion; (2) the period of catechumenate, lasting between one and three years, in which the church instructs the catechumens in the Scriptures, doctrine, and morals of Christian life and incorporates them into the Catholic community; (3) the period of enlightenment and purification, usually during Lent, in which the elect (as the catechumens are now called) engages in a more immediate and intense spiritual preparation for baptism through reflection and prayer. These formational periods are accompanied by and understood in light of prayers and liturgical rites. The period of the catechumenate is introduced by a rite of admission, in which the church admits the inquirer to the household of faith and calls the person to live in the pattern of the Cross. The rite of election or enrollment of names marks the entrance into the purification and enlightenment period. At this rite, the bishop, after determining whether the catechumens are properly disposed for baptism, acknowledges, in the name of the church, their election by God to be baptized. In addition to the rites for entrance into each stage, the catechists, sponsors, and catechumens meet for prayer and the study of Scripture. During Lent, the Christian community prays for and with the elect, the catechumens, in prayers of scrutiny, which ask God to purify and cleanse the elect's heart and soul so that they may be prepared for baptismal life. Baptism itself is, as a rule, celebrated at the Easter Vigil, along with confirmation and the Eucharist. During the Easter season, the neophytes (newborn Christians) enter the fourth stage, the period of postbaptismal catechesis or mystagogy, in which they reflect on the meaning of the rites they have celebrated in light of the paschal mystery. The rite of baptism for children consists of a welcoming into the church, a service of the Word, the liturgy of baptism, and a blessing of the parents. Theological Understanding of Baptism These rites have their foundation in and reflect several theological presuppositions which are the result of the renaissance of sacramental and liturgical research. First, the rites reflect a wider understanding of baptismal theology. Baptism not only washes away original sin; it facilitates the sharing of Christ's life in the context of the Paschal mystery, incorporates one into God's family, and calls one to live the mystery of faith in one's situation. While these concepts are not absent from the older rites, they are more clearly emphasized in the new rites—not only in the prayers of the rites, but in the structure of the initiation process. The various stages of the rites assist the internalizing of faith, which is not simply intellectual assent to theological principles, but the surrender of one's whole being to God. Even in the baptism of infants, ministers are to prepare the parents and godparents in such a manner that they can form the child in the ways of faith. Second, baptism is understood to be communal in nature. The general introductions to the rites express the concern that not only those involved in specific ministries exercise their roles, but that the entire Christian community undertake their ministry of evangelization, prayer, and support of those seeking baptism. Baptism does not initiate one into a private relationship with God but into an existential community of faith. Third, the rites are rooted in the Scriptures. Every celebration contains a liturgy of the Word, and the prayers draw from scriptural imagery. The first concern of the church in bringing a person to baptism is that a person hears the gospel and commits oneself to Christ. Fourth, by returning to the ancient structure of initiation, the RCIA presupposes that the church is faithful to its mission of evangelization. In the precatechumenate, the church does not wait for people to come to it, but rather it actively proclaims the gospel, inviting people to baptismal faith. Finally, the rites reflect a deep appreciation of the ecumenical aspects of baptism. The once common practice of conditional baptism for Christians of other denominations is now reserved for only those situations in which there is serious doubt that a Trinitarian form of baptism occurred. The RCIA is intended only for those persons who have never been baptized. In some countries, however, rites of welcome that recognize baptism in a different denomination are incorporated into the context of the rites of the RCIA for pastoral reasons. The reception of baptized persons into full communion with the Roman Catholic church is seen as a continuation of their baptismal conversion. The Decree on Ecumenism recognizes that baptism establishes a sacramental bond of unity; thus, acknowledging that other Christian denominations are part of the church, although they lack full unity with the Roman Catholic church. In light of this baptismal theology, the council called for dialogue with Christian churches concerning baptism. As a result of this mandate, Catholic theologians have participated in the formulation of the World Council of Churches' statement, Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry, as well as bilateral discussions on baptism. In responding to BEM, the Vatican affirmed many areas of consensus and called for further discussion on certain theological issues including original sin, the necessity of baptism, baptism's nonrepeatable character, infant baptism, and the relationship between baptism, confirmation and Eucharist.