Norms for Infant Baptism

As a community of faith, St. Cletus Parish has the responsibility of ensuring that infants baptized into the Catholic Church will be raised in the faith. Toward the fulfillment of this responsibility, the following norms have been adopted. Parents are encouraged to fulfill the following responsibilities and to have their child baptized within a reasonable time after birth.

Parental Requirements

Parish Membership. For a child to be baptized in the Catholic Church, his/her Catholic parent(s) must be a registered and practicing member(s) of St. Cletus Parish, regularly participating in Sunday worship in our parish church, and supporting the parish through their gifts of time, talent, and treasure. Such a commitment provides reasonable assurance that the child to be baptized will be raised in the faith.

If you have recently moved into St. Cletus parish and are now registering, a letter from the pastor of your previous parish stating that you were registered and practicing will be required. If you have not been registered in a Catholic parish for more than two years, you must speak with one of the parish priests concerning your desire for the baptism of a child.

Sacramental Marriage. Parents who have not been sacramentally married in the Catholic Church must speak with one of the parish priests before they can enroll their child for baptism.

Preparation Session. To ensure that parents are aware of the meaning of baptism in Christian life and the commitments they are making, they are expected to participate in a program of instruction and preparation. Deacon Mark McCarthy conducts this program. Please call him to make an appointment. Godparents, while not required to participate, are welcome. If parents have participated in the program at St. Cletus within the last three years, they need not repeat it. Parents are required to register in advance, and are encouraged to participate in this session before their baby is born.

Godparents. In choosing a God-parent or sponsor for your child, parents are asked to seriously consider the following information. The sponsor’s role is to assist parents in passing on the faith in which the child is being baptized. Therefore, parents should choose someone who will take the role seriously and who will be a good role-model for the child. Parents should speak personally with the sponsor about the meaning of this role and their expectations.

Church law sets minimum requirements: A sponsor must be at least sixteen years old, already confirmed, and a practicing Catholic. If parents choose two people to be sponsors, they are to be male and female. Although non-Catholics may not serve as sponsors, they may serve as witness in addition to a sponsor, and must be themselves practicing the Christian faith.

Baptism, as the first of the sacraments of initiation into the people of God, is a sacrament that involves the whole Church of God, not just an infant’s family. Moreover, as a sacrament, its purpose is to associate new members into the Body of Christ, to bring them into communion. Consequently the sacrament for each child will be celebrated at Sunday Mass with the larger community.

No baptisms will be celebrated during Lent, since the primary focus of this season for the community is conversion of life toward the renewal of our own baptismal promises, and adult commitment to live a life of faith.

Adult Initiation
If an adult wants to join the Catholic Church, he or she is invited to participate in the Catechumenate Program within which are celebrated the Rites for the Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). In general, this process focuses on understanding how faith operates in our lives, how we can live it out in daily life, and how we can express it in worship and praise. The priests and lay people who conduct the sessions make an effort to build on your own life-experience. They also try to show how our faith can be enriched by relating to others in the parish community.

Various stages in the process are marked by liturgical celebrations in church at the Sunday Liturgy; the Rites of Enrollment and Welcoming, Election on the first Sunday of Lent, and Scrutinies on other Sundays of Lent. The process of incorporation culminates at the Easter Vigil Service, when an individual either is baptized (if he or she has not been baptized previously), or makes a profession of faith (if he or she has already been baptized), confirmed and admitted to communion for the first time in the Catholic Church.

The parish Sunday bulletin will carry announcements of when and how to register for the Catechumenate program. If you have any questions, please call the parish office and ask for Deacon Mark McCarthy.