Why Don’t Catholics Baptize Fetuses?

[aris2chat]

>>
Augustine believed that an early abortion is not murder because, according to the Aristotelian concept of delayed ensoulment, the soul of a fetus at an early stage is not present, a belief that passed into canon law.[21][22] Nonetheless, he harshly condemned the procedure: "Sometimes, indeed, this lustful cruelty, or if you please, cruel lust, resorts to such extravagant methods as to use poisonous drugs to secure barrenness; or else, if unsuccessful in this, to destroy the conceived seed by some means previous to birth, preferring that its offspring should rather perish than receive vitality; or if it was advancing to life within the womb, should be slain before it was born."(De Nube et Concupiscentia 1.17 (15))

Thomas Aquinas, Pope Innocent III, and Pope Gregory XIV also believed that a fetus does not have a soul until "quickening," or when the fetus begins to kick and move, and therefore early abortion was not murder, though later abortion was.[10][21]<<

You are quoting pro-abortion propaganda that has been disproven. While discussion did take place when a soul became animated, the Church never approved abortion before "quickening" or animation.

links to references were included

 

[aris2chat]

The Vatican insists that life begins at conception, while it also insists that salvation is impossible without baptism. This latter point—that entry into heaven hinges on the sacrament of baptism—is not a meaningless theological technicality but a central tenet of the catholic church. As such, the conclusion here for believers is inescapable. For nine months, from conception to birth, fetuses are at risk of falling into an eternal abyss should they suffer the misfortune of miscarriage, complications in delivery, or some other fatal outcome.

Given this conclusion, it’s hard to find the logic in waiting until after birth for baptism. If Mom and Dad get loose after the Knights of Columbus Christmas party and conceive a baby, how does the church justify giving the fetus no chance at paradise until Father O’Malley baptizes it as a newborn the following autumn? Those nine months in the womb are extremely volatile, ending with a trip down the birth canal that statistically might be the child’s most dangerous journey until he or she turns sixteen and starts driving.

if eternity’s at stake, it’s difficult to understand why any believing Catholic would wait, as most do, even a few weeks after birth to baptize their baby. At a minimum, one would expect Catholic parents—even in an uncomplicated pregnancy with an apparently healthy infant—to have a priest waiting in the delivery room to secure the eventual passage to heaven.

Because they're idiots.

I misread the question. I thought it asked why they DID baptize fetuses. They do, btw. At least I think I read something about that.

premature in the case of the death of the mother, fetus can be removed and baptized.

 

[MaryL]

Don't expect religion to be rational. Big mistake. Getting absolution or 40 virgins after harming innocent people, delusion is the key word.

 

[RWNJ]

Don't expect religion to be rational. Big mistake. Getting absolution or 40 virgins after harming innocent people, delusion is the key word.

That is not what Christianity teaches. Everyone sins. Even Christians. But there is sin, then there is willful sin. Do you know the difference? And the Bible is perfectly rational in what it teaches. If you disagree, then how about providing us with an example of it not making sense?

 

[MaryL]

Well,

Don't expect religion to be rational. Big mistake. Getting absolution or 40 virgins after harming innocent people, delusion is the key word.

That is not what Christianity teaches. Everyone sins. Even Christians. But there is sin, then there is willful sin. Do you know the difference? And the Bible is perfectly rational in what it teaches. If you disagree, then how about providing us with an example of it not making sense.

OK...here we go. Religion. What is the sense in that? We need to have a "creator"? Ok. Where did this "creator' come from? And WHAT makes any particular theological rules, laws and belief systems VALID anyway? Please.

 

[presonorek]

Most baptismal pools don't fit through the birth canal.

They should be custom made for pro-lifers.

 

[RWNJ]

Well,

Don't expect religion to be rational. Big mistake. Getting absolution or 40 virgins after harming innocent people, delusion is the key word.

That is not what Christianity teaches. Everyone sins. Even Christians. But there is sin, then there is willful sin. Do you know the difference? And the Bible is perfectly rational in what it teaches. If you disagree, then how about providing us with an example of it not making sense.

OK...here we go. Religion. What is the sense in that? We need to have a "creator"? Ok. Where did this "creator' come from? And WHAT makes any particular theological rules, laws and belief systems VALID anyway? Please.

God has always existed. He is eternal. The uncaused cause of everything. If that sounds absurd, consider the alternative. An infinite series of causes. Something that science tells us is impossible. There are no infinities in nature.

Regarding your second question, can you name one societal ill, that is the result of human agents, that is not the result of direct disobedience to God? I'll bet you can't. Then there is Biblical Prophecy. I challenge anyone to prove any Biblical prophecy wrong. To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever done so. If that's not proof of God, then what evidence would convince you?

 

[Meriweather]

links to references were included

Yes. The sources you linked to have been disproven. That's the trouble with the Internet. Along with accurate information there is a lot of stuff out there presented as being accurate. It's best to trace back to original sources.