Conditions for Liceity of Infant Baptism

The Question of the Moral Life of the Parents

Abstract

The present paper discusses the conditions for liceity of infant baptism in the case of parents whose moral life has deviated from the moral norms of the Church. We examine the situation of parents living together, divorced and (re)married only in a civil marriage and some other „irregular” difficult cases, such as people living in non-heterosexual partnerships and/or those from the LGBT community. This article focuses primarily on updating the Church’s legislation in this regard, analysing and evaluating it in the light of the difficult situations of the families today. In doing so, I endeavour to interpret the requirements for the liceity contained in the §1 of can. 868 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law (CIC/1983) in such a way that they can be applied to the irregular situations of families in today’s society. At the end of the study, I conclude with a recommendation: with a differentiated baptismal practice the priests could adequately distinguish between situations, evaluating each case individually.