The Council of Trent was held in the mid 1500s, to refute the errors of Protestantism and to concisely set forth Catholic beliefs. Among the topics discussed were the Sacraments, including Baptism. The participants in this council aimed to eradicate erroneous teachings and practices regarding the Sacraments and they were quite specific in doing so. It was a dogmatic council and the proceedings are binding upon the Church.
In order to promulgate the council, a catechism was written immediately afterwards. Pope Saint Pius V and Saint Charles Borromeo were both heavily involved in that undertaking. The canons and decrees of the Council of Trent and the Catechism of the Council of Trent can be obtained from Tan Publishing. In this day and age of dodgy catechesis, I highly recommend that everyone obtain copies.
Meanwhile, here is what the Catechism of the Council of Trent says of Baptism. Particular germane to the topic of the "I versus we" discussion is the section under "words of the form". Yes, it really does matter what word is used. Specific words convey specific meanings. The Church has always understood that. It's high time that some Catholics start appreciating that reality.
This is from the text itself: Essential And NonEssential Words Of The Form
ReplyDeleteIt is, however, to be observed that of the words contained in this form, which we have shown to be the complete and perfect one, some are absolutely necessary, so that the omission of them renders the valid administration of the Sacrament impossible; while others on the contrary, are not so essential as to affect its validity.
Of the latter kind is the word ego (I), the force of which is included in the word baptizo (I baptise). Nay more, the Greek Church, adopting a different manner of expressing the form, and being of opinion that it is unnecessary to make mention of the minister, omits the pronoun altogether. The form universally used in the Greek Church is: Let this servant of Christ be baptised in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. It appears, however, from the decision and definition of the Council of Florence, that those who use this form administer the Sacraments validly, because the words sufficiently express what is essential to the validity of Baptism, that is, the ablution which then takes place. While the "I" is non-essential, nothing saying that it can be replaced, only omitted.
All that still serves to state that there is one minister of the sacrament. I cannot be replaced with we.
DeleteThat the word “ego” is non-essential is due to the clear conjugation of Latin verbs, which is not present in English. “Baptize” is the conjugation for 1st and 2nd person, both singular and plural, as well as 3rd person plural. “Baptize you in the name …” wiuld be unintelligible as to its meaning, so, in English, the “I” is essential to the form, following on the logic of Trent.
DeleteRC doctrine says a sacrament is comprised of form and matter: the form is the word(s), the matter is the physical substance (wine, water, oil). Accordingly,in the holy sacrament of baptism "I" cannot be replaced with "we". This is clearly stated in the Catechism of the Council of Trent, and in Thomas Aquinas.
ReplyDeleteExactly!
DeleteWhat about those innocent victims and their parents who went in full faith, should their babies' and RCIAs' souls be spared of this word wreck, would Jesus deny those babies the grace of baptism due to the errors of the pastors?
ReplyDeletePlease bear in mind that eternal salvation is a gift to us, not an obligation on God's part. We accept that gift on His terms, not ours. The gift of baptism was never denied if it wasn't petitioned in the first place. That is why in all cases that we know, the clergy and bishops involved are trying to contact impacted individuals so that their situations can be corrected. Under no circumstances should anyone who suspects that they might be in that situation neglect to correct the matter out of presumption.
Delete