Baptism
Due to a question on the Catholic Answers Forum about whether baptism in the name of the Father and in the name of the Son and in the name of the Holy Spirit is valid, I’ve been reading–at the recommendation of Archbishop Burke–a book by Felix M. Cappello called Tractatus Canonico-Moralis de Sacramentis. It’s fascinating because it covers all sorts of even bizarre practical cases involving the sacraments.
One thing that struck me in the section on baptizing children in-utero, while partially born, etc. was the following passage (p. 138):
An et quomodo sint baptizandi fetus abortivi, monstra et ostenta
Omnes fetus abortivi, quovis tempore editi, sunt baptizandi (cfr. can. 747). Ratio est quia, iuxta sententiam longe communiorem et probabiliorem ob rationes theologicas et philosophicas, quae nobis aliisque videtur omnino certa, fetus humanus a primo conceptionis momento anima rationali informatur.
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2. Ex dictis, si fetus certo vivant, sunt baptizandi absolute; contra, si dubie vivant, sub conditione (can. 747).
My Translation:
Whether and how aborted fetuses, monstra and ostenta* are to be baptized.
All aborted fetuses, expelled at whatever time, are to be baptized (cf. can. 747). The reason is that, according to what has long been the more common and probable opinion for theological and philosophical reasons, and which seems altogether certain to us and to others, the human fetus is from the first moment of conception informed by a rational soul.
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2. From the things stated [above], if fetuses are certainly alive, they are to be baptized absolutely; otherwise, if they are doubtfully alive, under condition (can. 747).
This book is from the nineteenth century.
I omitted, by the way, a very long explanation of why a fetus is a human being with a rational soul from the first moment of conception.
Don’t let anyone–e.g., The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Catholicism, convince you that the Catholic Church has only recently decided that life begins at conception or that this is only a practical, provisional decision.
* “monstra and ostenta“: these words refer to something which was born apparently contrary to nature. It did not seem apt to translate these as “monsters” because they are technical terms being used in a medical sense to refer to certain more extreme physical deformities. Interestingly, monstra and ostenta were thought to be special ’signs’ from God which is why both words literally mean “things shown” or “signs” (English cognates are ‘demonstrate’ and ‘ostensible’, for example).