Down yonder, a reader writes:
Infants cannot make a moral choice while on earth, as they have yet to achieve the faculties of reason. Yet, can someone enter the eternal presence of God unless they make a free act of the will to do so? Aren’t all creatures, humans and angels, subject to a test? It seems possible (or even likely) that babies are given, upon death, the faculties of reason, and are presented with the choice of the Angels: a once in a lifetime decision, God or self.
Hence, it seems they could choose hell, even if they were baptised. So we can’t know (not with absolute certainty, anyway) that they are in Heaven. We should still offer them to the mercy of God.
Agree? Disagree?
The Church teaches that God has promised to give his grace through the sacraments as long as the recipient does not place a barrier in the way of this (for example, receiving Communion in a state of mortal sin, going to confession when you have no intention of repenting of your sins). As long as one does not block the grace of the sacrament, one will receive it.
Consequently, infants receive God’s grace through baptism since they are incapable of rejecting it. This means that if they die in infancy, without having grown to the point that they can commit mortal sin, their salvation is assured.
It therefore follows that not all creatures must make a personal act of faith in God during life in order to be united with God in the afterlife. Only those who have the use of reason are required to do this. Since infants do not have the use of reason, this is not required of them.
Regarding infants who die without baptism, the Catechism states:
CCC 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.
I think it is a shameful disgrace that the Catholic church will perform funeral rites for unbaptized infants, but not for miscarried babies, and yet still maintain that life begins at conception. Where is the moral difference between a child who dies after birth and one who dies before?
All the more urgent is the Church’s call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy Baptism.
Yet the Church does that very thing when she won’t baptize innocent infants because the parents aren’t as faithful as they should be, or can’t muster up the promise to keep the kids in the Church.
Baptize them, especially if the parents want it anyway, and talk to the parents LATER about their responsibilities as parents.
Yes, it happens, that a parent sees the necessity of baptism for their infant, but has issues with the Church and has some personal issues to resolve before making a promise to raise the infant in a particular Church. I’ve seen it happen, and I’ve seen it happen when the child in question was quite ill.
These personal issues of the parents should not have ever been an obstacle to baptizing that infant. But they continue to be, as though the infant is personal PROPERTY and not a person in his/her own right, who needs the sacrament, and who, if given rationality and the choice, would not refuse it.
Claiming that the parents should act as proxies in this way, is to contradict everything that is important about why infant baptism is so important.
You never know when and if the parents might have a change of heart and come back to the Church. You never know how that sacrament could have actually benefitted the situation. You never know, in the meantime, whether the child will die.
Joy, please see this link.
Your link says that miscarried and stillborn children can receive funeral rites, but this was denied to friends of mine. They were told that if the church performed funeral rites for all miscarried babies, they’d be doing funerals non-stop and wouldn’t have time for anything else. If, as Catholics, they have a rite to a funeral for their child, where can they go for help?
I recommend calling the local diocese. If the diocese refuses to help, I recommend the St. Joseph Foundation. The St. Joseph Foundation is an apostolate that helps Catholics to assert their rights within the Church.