Baptism Validity
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Summary

No. Baptism is valid no matter who administers the Sacrament so long as the correct matter and form are employed, and the minister has not made any indication that he does not intend to do what the Church does, but has the implicit intention saltem faciendi quod facit ecclesia. The Catholic Church teaches that if a minister of a Sacrament, that means anyone, uses the correct matter and form, the Trinitarian Formula, with at least the minimum personal intention necessary, then the administration of the Sacrament is valid, even if the person adheres to a sect that is openly heretical.

In France a dispute had arisen whether those baptized by the Calvinists should be rebaptized. Pope St. Pius V settled the controversy by defining that baptism was not to be repeated. The instruction makes it clear that erroneous views do not render the sacrament invalid, provided that the right matter and form instituted by Christ were used with the general intention to perform what Christ instituted; that this general intention prevails over the particular error or wrong private interpretations. Error and heretical opinion about the nature and effects of baptism can therefore coexist with a sincere intention of doing what Christ did or had instituted.

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3/12/2006 4:32:14 AM
-66.69.144.12
12/21/2005 5:02:35 PM
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