(August 17, 2017 at 12:04 pm)vorlon13 Wrote: Here's a statement from the Catholic Church about Mormon baptism:
The baptism conferred by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints cannot be considered a valid Christian baptism, said the Vatican's doctrinal congregation.
The ruling by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was published in the July 16-17 edition of the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, after being approved by Pope John Paul II.
While the Mormon baptismal rite refers to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Mormon beliefs about the identity of the three persons is so different from Catholic and mainline Christian belief that "one cannot even consider this doctrine to be a heresy arising from a false understanding of Christian doctrine," said a Vatican explanation of the ruling.
The notice, dated June 5, was signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the congregation, and by Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, secretary.
An accompanying article in L'Osservatore Romano said the ruling "changes the past practice of not contesting the validity of this baptism."
Damn, that is right there condemning all Mormons, ain't it?? Mormon beliefs aren't even heresy (!!!!) they are so far off the mark in their understanding of Jesus and therefore baptism. I see nothing in that statement that confirms the notion Mormons are Christians in the view of the Catholic Church.
What this means is that if a Mormon wants to convert to Catholicism, he must be baptized in the Catholic Church. Because Mormonism is so different from Catholicism, a Mormon baptism doesn't translate over like a protestant baptism would.
This by no means indicates that Mormons are bad people condemned to Hell. Just that our faiths are different enough to where a Mormon who is converting to Catholicism would need to be baptized over again, in the Catholic Church.
"Of course, everyone will claim they respect someone who tries to speak the truth, but in reality, this is a rare quality. Most respect those who speak truths they agree with, and their respect for the speaking only extends as far as their realm of personal agreement. It is less common, almost to the point of becoming a saintly virtue, that someone truly respects and loves the truth seeker, even when their conclusions differ wildly."
-walsh
-walsh