Vatican tells bishops not to share parish information with Mormons
Print Friendly VersionBy Francis X. Rocca
Religion News Service
VATICAN CITY -- Seeking to stop Mormons from posthumously baptizing Catholic ancestors, the Vatican has instructed bishops around the world not to share parish registers with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy issued the directive in a letter to national bishops' conferences in early April, according to Catholic News Service. The letter referred to "grave reservations" expressed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Catholic Church's highest doctrinal body.
The Rev. James Massa, an official of the U.S. bishops' conference, told CNS that the Vatican had acted to prevent the use of church records for the "proxy baptisms" of deceased Catholics by Mormons, which the letter calls a "detrimental practice."
Latter-day Saints, commonly known as Mormons, believe that by performing such baptisms they can offer their ancestors the chance to become Mormons after death.
Massa acknowledged that the Vatican's action might complicate dialogue between the Catholics and Mormons, but said the "purpose of interreligious dialogue is not only to identify agreements, but also to identify differences."
Relations between the two churches took a step forward in April, during Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the U.S., when Mormon representatives took part for the first time in a prayer service led by a pope.
An LDS church spokesman declined to comment on the Vatican's letter, saying that church officials had not yet seen the document.
On the whole, I think the
On the whole, I think the average Mormon would make a great Catholic if she/he decided to make that choice ! The officials of the Latter Day Saints showed great class in reserving comment until they could examine the order more clearly. While I was living in Las Vegas it occurred to me that the residents of Southwestern Utah could draw tourist traffic from the Gaming Mecca by founding a theme park based on the 1950's Science Fiction Classic Film , ' Invasion of the Body Snatchers ' . By poking fun at the slur that they are a cult, a nostalgic village could be established offering a reality based adventure amongst zombie-like subversives bent upon transforming the planet into a mass of like minded aliens through a bio-facsimile mode in giant plant pods , ( the film is really first rate ! ) . The merchandising possibilities boggle the mind. Especially in this time of McCarthyite type of reactionism this would be a great outlet for emotional relief.
Let's hope that church officials don't bobble this one and make a big deal out of a non-issue. " Grave Reservations " and " Detrimental Practices " are expressions that easily lead the mind to the bizarre extremes seen in cinema. Fears are contained and resolved in the safety of the Movies. Media Savvy Bishops are few and far between.
Until someone shows me compelling evidence to the contrary, I will trust in the basic good will of the children of this Faith. I remember wanting to be in their Tabernacle Choir as a younger person. The musical traditions of American Protestants are very inspiring and I have had the pleasure of participating in more than a few events of this nature. It reenforced in me the true Patriotism of a diverse America that has a dynamic common ground. In its essence , Protestant means a proactive profession of faith. Its inception was as a rejection of abusive practices, most pronouncedly by a devout Augustinian Monk.
Beauty is not opposed to truth. It is simply truth in its most attractive form.
I was not aware that parish
I was not aware that parish registers are shared with anyone! Just what is in these registers? Are only Mormons not allowed to have this information so that they cannot try to baptize someone posthumously, while other groups are allowed to have the information so that they might predict someone's vulnerabilities, say, as a voter?