An American Catholic priest baptized believers for years using the wrong wording. The religious presented his resignation and thousands of baptisms were invalidated.
“We baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”. It was while pronouncing these words that for 20 years, the American Catholic priest Andres Arango baptized thousands of faithful in his parish, located in the diocese of Phoenix, in the state of Arizona, in the southwestern United States. -United.
However, the wording is not correct. During all these years, Father Arango should have said “I baptize you” instead of using the pronoun “we baptize you”. A slight discrepancy in wording, but which cost the bishop his title, and his career within the Catholic Church, the American channel CNN reported on Tuesday. The religious submitted his resignation on February 1.
A help site put online by the diocese
“The problem with using ‘we’ is that it is not the community that baptizes a person, rather it is Christ, and he alone, who presides over all the sacraments, and so it is Christ Jesus who baptizes,” Bishop Thomas Olmsted of the Diocese of Phoenix said in a statement to parishioners.
According to the bishop, the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith had specified in 2020 that baptisms conferred with the formula “we baptize” should be invalidated and individuals should be rebaptized. The Diocese of Phoenix has posted a website for help and information for anyone who thinks they have had an invalid baptism.
Thousands of potentially affected baptisms
“It saddens me to learn that I have carried out invalid baptisms throughout my career as a priest by regularly using an incorrect formula”, reacted the person concerned in a public message. “I deeply regret my mistake and how it affected many people in your parish and elsewhere.”
Bishop Thomas Olmsted added that he does not believe Father Andres Anrango intended to harm his parishioners by using this wording for years. The latter will also continue to be a priest, and he is committed to helping the thousands of people who have been victims of baptisms deemed erroneous.
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