Question regarding conversion...but specifically children...

[sidhe]

Hi everyone!

My wife and I were wondering something...largely hypothetically.

If a married couple were to convert to Catholicism, and they have a young child (say, under 3 years old) who was baptized in another church, what happens to the child? Do they functionally become cradle Catholic, or do they have to be received or confirmed separately?

Just a hypothetical situation that we were wondering the answer to.

Thanks in advance.

sidhe

 

[Sketcher]

I don't know a lot about Catholics, but they'll take baptisms from other churches as valid, depending on the church. I don't imagine why it would be different for children than it is for adults, since they do infant baptism.

 

[BAFRIEND]

Hi everyone!

My wife and I were wondering something...largely hypothetically.

If a married couple were to convert to Catholicism, and they have a young child (say, under 3 years old) who was baptized in another church, what happens to the child? Do they functionally become cradle Catholic, or do they have to be received or confirmed separately?

Just a hypothetical situation that we were wondering the answer to.

Thanks in advance.

sidhe

I think the term cradle Catholic is meant to mean you received an infant Baptism in the Catholic Church and your parents were Catholics.
I am not certain what you mean by confirmed seperately... all Catholics must be confirmed in the Catholic Church in order to receive Communion. Even cradle Catholics must go through confirmation. Most cradle Catholics are confirmed in first or second grade (must be at least 7). Hope this helps.

 

[hsilgne]

Hi everyone!

My wife and I were wondering something...largely hypothetically.

If a married couple were to convert to Catholicism, and they have a young child (say, under 3 years old) who was baptized in another church, what happens to the child? Do they functionally become cradle Catholic, or do they have to be received or confirmed separately?

Just a hypothetical situation that we were wondering the answer to.

Thanks in advance.

sidhe

Hello sidhe,

"Cradle Catholic" is a slang term describing a person born into the Catholic faith.

I suppose the reasoning behind the term stems from the fact that as Catholics we are obliged to raise our children Catholic. So, for instance, my parents are Catholic and raised me Catholic from birth, therefore I am a "cradle catholic".

In the hypothetical you suggested...

The Church recognizes any Christian baptism as valid(namely if the Sacrament is performed in the Name of the Trinity) as the Sacrament of Baptism leaves an indelible mark on our souls. The Church does like to have some sort of record of the baptism and most denominations do issue a record when a person is baptised.

If a married couple converted then they too are obliged to raise their children Catholic and this obligation is an essential part of the parents conversion. This is not to say that the child is forced to be Catholic because as Bafriend indicated, each individual must make the free choice to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation at some point in their journey.

If you have more questions regarding the Catholic faith please feel welcome to ask us here.

I hope this helps.

God Bless!

 

[sidhe]

So, as long as the child was raised Catholic, the child would not need any additional acceptance into the church and would be able to celebrate First Communion etc. along with other children in the church? That's the crux of my question, really.

 

[HypnoToad]

Well, I would expect they still have to go through Confirmation first before taking Communion.

As far as accepting a baptism from another church , it may depend on the specific RC church now being attended.

My parents divorced. My father (a Lutheran) re-married a RC woman. The ceremony was performed in a Lutheran church. My stepmother's church (RC) would not allow her to partake in Communion any longer until they were married in a RC church, they wouldn't recognize the marriage from a Lutheran church.

So, a baptism from another church might not be accepted by that particular RC church, I couldn't say for certain.

 

[hsilgne]

So, as long as the child was raised Catholic, the child would not need any additional acceptance into the church and would be able to celebrate First Communion etc. along with other children in the church? That's the crux of my question, really.

Yep, that is correct.

God Bless.

 

[hsilgne]

Well, I would expect they still have to go through Confirmation first before taking Communion.

No, that is incorrect. For an adult converting yes, but not a toddler. Children receive the Sacrament of First Communion and First Confession before receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation.

As far as accepting a baptism from another church , it may depend on the specific RC church now being attended.

The Catholic church recognizes all valid baptisms. "Valid" being the key word.

My parents divorced. My father (a Lutheran) re-married a RC woman. The ceremony was performed in a Lutheran church. My stepmother's church (RC) would not allow her to partake in Communion any longer until they were married in a RC church, they wouldn't recognize the marriage from a Lutheran church.

Yes that sounds correct. As Catholics we are obliged to follow the teachings Christ has instituted through the Church. Part of that is receiving the gifts of the Sacraments, of which marriage is one and unlike Baptism, the Sacrament of marriage can only be performed by an ordained Catholic priest.