"Abusing the Sacraments".

While I respect Father Bob Bedard's good motivation in attempting to direct Catholics toward a proper appreciation of the sacraments, I have to disagree with his claim that infant baptisms "should be delayed until the pastor can be assured the child will be reared in a faith-filled atmosphere."

As there is always the danger that the child may die before being baptized, Fr. Bedard is essentially acting as an arbiter of souls in demanding, prior to baptism, personal satisfaction of the parents' commitments. While it may be true that "infant Baptism requires a post-baptismal catechumenate" (Catechism #1231), does the absence of this assurance, which even in the best of cases can not be proven, justify placing in jeopardy the immediate fate of an innocent child's soul?

God withholds his love from no one. The Catechism (#1250) thus states: "Born with a fallen human nature and tainted by original sin, children also have need of the new birth in Baptism ... The sheer gratuitousness of the grace of salvation is particularly manifest in infant Baptism. The Church and the parents would deny a child the priceless grace of becoming a child of God were they not to confer Baptism shortly after birth."

Fr. Bedard also believes that, despite the further impending danger of the supernatural death of a person's soul, the Sacrament of Confession should be withheld from those who, in the majority, do "not go to church and are not being brought up in the faith." He sees this lack of commitment as a kind of proof that "there is no real motivation for true repentance on the part of the youngsters." On the contrary the very act of approaching the confessional can be seen as a personal profession of faith on the part of the penitent. While perfect contrition is more desirable, imperfect contrition or attrition (the fear of punishment in this life or the hereafter) is sufficient for a valid confession. Priestly intuitions aside, this would seem the perfect opportunity for a holy priest to reach out to a certain member of the faithful. Often there are deep-rooted reasons for sinful transgressions, which can be brought to the surface by a qualified priest in the confessional.

In the absence of personal commitments to attend church and the sacraments on the part of the faithful, it would seem highly imperative that priests make the effort to visit the nearby schools as often as possible to hear confessions and say Mass. But Fr. Bedard rejects this "reaching out" to the faithful claiming it is a priest's "duty to please God alone." Perhaps it is this very lack of priestly commitment and religious visibility in our schools that is the reason why they can now hardly be called "Catholic."

Ultimately, faith is not something that can be forced. While it is certainly discouraging for priests to live in a secular society that is increasingly abandoning the importance of the sacraments, it is at the same time a momentous opportunity for those priests to more fully engage themselves in their vows and in the proper battle for souls.

Hamilton, ON