Preist slaps crying baby in the face at baptism

[Fireball]

As a mother, it absolutely floors me that anyone would just stand there watching someone else slap their kid like that. It is not acceptable and I hope the article gets around enough that law enforcement actually does something.

The principal religion in France is Islam, due to secularization and the dying off of Catholocism. In France, one can get married in a church, but the secular authority will still require their authorization for it to be legal. The same is true in the US, except that the gov allows churches to officiate at weddings. My wedding certificate says, in effect, "Mr and Mrs Fireball are married by the named priest, who is duly authorized by the gov". As Rev Rye has pointed out, one can be licensed to marry people by the state, regardless of the religion (or the lack thereof).

Because apparently some christians believe god will send babies to hell, unless some ritual is performed that they're too young to understand?

Yes. The doctrine is called "Infant Damnation." To be fair, Catholicism (at least the mainstream kind) isn't comfortable with the idea of God sending babies that young to Hell, and the Catechism's official statement is they generally hope God does the right thing. Honestly, I think it's as much an initiation ritual as anything else.

If I recall my early religious RCC training, unbaptized babies end up in some sort of in-between place called Limbo. Sending a newborn to hell is possibly beyond the pale, even for the RCC.