Re-Reading Sacrosanctum Concilium: Article 68

Vatican website translation:

68. The baptismal rite should contain variants, to be used at the discretion of the local ordinary, for occasions when a very large number are to be baptized together. Moreover, a shorter rite is to be drawn up, especially for mission lands, to be used by catechists, but also by the faithful in general when there is danger of death, and neither priest nor deacon is available.

Latin text:

68. In ritu Baptismi ne desint accommodationes, de iudicio Ordinarii loci adhibendae, pro magno baptizandorum concursu. Conficiatur item Ordo brevior quo, praesertim in terris Missionum, catechistae, et generatim, in periculo mortis, fideles, absente sacerdote vel diacono, uti possint.

Slavishly literal translation:

68. In the rite of Baptism let there not be lacking accommodations, to be followed according to the judgment of the Ordinary of the locality, for a great gathering of those to be baptized. Similarly a briefer Order is to be constructed which, especially in the lands of the Missions, catechists and (generally in the danger of death) the faithful, in the absence of a priest or deacon, would be able to use.

At the time of the Second Vatican Council there was a general consensus among pastors and missioners that the Rite of Baptism exhibited very little flexibility in accommodating to varying pastoral situations. Article 68 gives the local Ordinary the right to permit the Rite of Baptism to be simplified (in as yet unspecified ways) when a significant number of candidates for baptism were presented (as infants) or presented themselves (as adults) in one ceremony. For parts of the world lacking the regular ministry of priests and deacons, a simplified Rite of Baptism was authorized to be used by catechists (in ordinary circumstances) or others (in emergency situations).

Pray Tell readers might want to comment on how well the present Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and the Rite of Baptism of Infants respond to the conciliar desire for pastoral flexibility. Are there circumstances to which the reformed rites have yet to respond?

Michael Joncas

Ordained in 1980 as a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis, MN, Fr. (Jan) Michael Joncas holds degrees in English from the (then) College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN, and in liturgical studies from the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN and the Pontificio Istituto Liturgico of the Ateneo S. Anselmo in Rome. He has served as a parochial vicar, a campus minister, and a parochial administrator (pastor). He is the author of six books and more than two hundred fifty articles and reviews in journals such as Worship, Ecclesia Orans, and Questions Liturgiques. He has composed and arranged more than 300 pieces of liturgical music. He has recently retired as a faculty member in the Theology and Catholic Studies departments and as Artist in Residence and Research Fellow in Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota.

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Comments

5 responses to “Re-Reading Sacrosanctum Concilium: Article 68”

  1. Peter Haydon

    I suspect that it would be useful for the instructions to be used by lay people for emergency baptism to be printed in prayer books. On those rare occasions that it is needed we might struggle to find the requirements in a hurry.
    Sadly this points to the position in France where many funerals take place with no priest or deacon present. Perhaps we will get to that with with paragraph 81.

    Reply
  2. Terri Miyamoto

    interesting to consider what “emergency” means. There are grandparents who have told me they have baptized their grandchildren because the parents would not bring the children to the Church for the sacrament. Sometimes because the parents are truly non-believers, more often because it’s not important to them and there is a perception that we make them jump through too many hoops. (Honestly I’m not sure if this is true or not – it’s something I struggle with). I’m sure this is not the “emergency” envisioned in the rite, but it seems to be an emergency in the eyes of faithful, loving Catholics who don’t have a priest or deacon in the family.

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  3. Elisabeth Ahn

    Without going into too much detail, when my almost three-month old niece was dying, it was my brother-in-law who baptized her, following the instructions given to him over the phone by his mother.

    We had called our priest and left a message to please come over, and he did… shortly after my niece died.

    I was there, but don’t remember much, for we were all crying. But, I do remember how desperate we were to get her baptized… and how much peace it gave us that we were able to do so. (Who was it that said faith is a funny thing?)

    Anyway, all this to say Amen to this: In the rite of Baptism let there not be lacking accommodations…

    ETA: Plus this (from Peter Haydon @ comment #1): it would be useful for the instructions to be used by lay people for emergency baptism to be printed in prayer books.

    Reply
  4. Fr. Allan J. McDonald

    I’ve lost count of how many Catholic nurses in hospital settings have told me they have baptized dying newborn infants. Many of these nurses did it in the pre-Vatican II Church as well as since. All you have to do in an emergency situation is use water, pour it over the head of the dying person and say “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” and God’s grace does the rest.

    Reply
    1. Kirk Hansen

      @Fr. Allan J. McDonald:
      Hi Father. I don’t know if you even remember posting this, but I just ran across it. I find this article of Sacrosanctum Concilium odd because I think (though I’m not certain) that in emergency situations nothing has changed pre Vatican II and post Vatican II in regard to “All you have to do in an emergency situation is use water, pour it over the head of the dying person and say “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” and God’s grace does the rest.” …do you know?

      Reply

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