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AN IRISH PRIEST has said the declaration of thousands of baptisms in the US and Brazil as invalid because the priest in question used the word ‘we’ instead of ‘I’ is “over the top” and takes “a purely legalistic view” of the sacrament.
Thousands of Catholics in the US and Brazil may have to be re-baptised after it was discovered a priest had gotten one word wrong in the blessing for decades — invalidating the rite.
For 26 years, Fr Andres Arango had been performing the first sacrament of Catholic life with the words, ‘We baptise you in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’, instead of the Vatican-sanctioned ‘I baptise you in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’.
The ‘I’ references Jesus, not the priest.
It is believed that thousands of people are affected by the issue, casting doubt over the validity of their confirmations and marriages. If a person’s baptism is deemed invalid, later sacraments they received may also be invalidated.
The Very Reverend Tim Hazelwood of the Association of Catholic Priests in Ireland said the decision to deem thousands of baptisms as invalid over the use of one incorrect word is “taking a purely legalistic view of baptism” and ignoring the spiritual side of the sacrament.
“[Arango's] ordination was valid, I think it’s an taking an extremely legalistic view of the whole thing. This has caused upset for so many people,” Hazelwood told The Journal.
He said he is “not advocating that wording should be changed” but, as was the case here, using the term ‘we’ instead of ‘I’ should not invalidate thousands of baptisms.
Hazelwood, a parish priest in Killeagh in Co Cork, noted that priests will “mistakenly say a wrong word here or there” and this should not invalidate sacraments.
“If that was the case, we couldn’t open our mouths, we’d be terrified to say anything,” he said.
Arango’s error was identified in mid-2021, a quarter of a century after he began working as a priest, but made headlines in recent days.
An investigation has determined that the priest had failed to baptise validly over his 26 years of service in Brazil, the Diocese of San Diego, and most recently the Diocese of Phoenix in Arizona.
Arango has apologised and resigned as parish pastor in St Gregory parish in Phoenix.
In a message to his parishioners, Arango said: “It saddens me to learn that I have performed invalid baptisms throughout my ministry as a priest by regularly using an incorrect formula. I deeply regret my error and how this has affected numerous people in your parish and elsewhere.”
Phoenix’s diocesan spokeswoman Katie Burke said on Tuesday that Arango “was using the incorrect words from the beginning of his priesthood until it was brought to the attention of the diocese last summer”.
“I do not have an exact number of people baptised between 1995 and 2021, but I believe they number in the thousands,” she added.
Referencing the ‘we’ versus ‘I’ argument, Thomas J Olmsted, Bishop of Phoenix, said in a statement: “It is not the community that baptises a person and incorporates them into the Church of Christ; rather, it is Christ, and Christ alone, who presides at all sacraments; therefore, it is Christ who baptises.”
‘Baptism is bigger than one word’
The Diocese of Phoenix has set up a question and answer section on its website about the situation.
One of the questions asks ‘Isn’t it legalistic to say a sacrament is invalid over a single word?’
In its response the Diseases notes: “It may seem legalistic, but the words that are spoken (the sacramental form), along with the actions that are performed and the materials used (the sacramental matter) are a crucial aspect of every sacrament.
“If you change the words, actions, or materials required in any of the sacraments, they are not valid. For example, if a priest uses milk instead of wine during the Consecration of the Eucharist, the sacrament is not valid. The milk would not become the Blood of Jesus Christ.”
Hazelwood said the comparison between changing one word and using milk instead of wine is “not comparing like with like”.
He said anyone in Ireland who is concerned about the validity of their child’s baptism if the priest in question used slightly different wording, shouldn’t worry.
I don’t think the Holy Spirit spends time listening to every word priests say. [Baptism] is bigger than that.
Hazelwood added situations like this are part of why Pope Francis is “trying to change what is happening in the Vatican” in terms of how certain strict procedures are implemented.
Arango’s error is not the first of its kind; in 2020, a priest in Michigan discovered that he had to be re-baptised after watching a family video in which the officiant also used ‘we’ instead of ‘I’.
FAQ section
In its online question and answer resource, the Diocese of Phoenix addresses a number of concerns people may have.
Some of the issue raised are as follows:
Do I need to go to confession?
No, but you do need to get your other sacraments resolved promptly. When you are baptized [sic], your sins are forgiven and your soul is wiped clean!
Does this affect my (or my child’s) First Holy Communion?
No, this does not affect your First Holy Communion (or any subsequent reception of Holy Communion) as you can only have one First Holy Communion. If you have received the Eucharist, even when unbaptized, you have received Holy Communion. Going forward, it is important to remember that only the baptized may receive the Eucharist. Please do not take Communion until after you have been validly baptized.
Does this affect my (or my child’s) confirmation?
Yes. Valid baptism is required for the valid reception of confirmation. In other words, if your baptism is invalid, your confirmation is invalid. At the time of your valid baptism, you will also receive confirmation; please contact your pastor to get this arranged.
Does this affect my marriage?
Maybe! Unfortunately, there is no single clear answer. There are a number of variables when it comes to valid marriages, and the Tribunal is here to help. If you were married after being baptized by Fr. Andres, please contact the Tribunal at (602) 354-2275 or tribunal@dphx.org.
Contains reporting from © AFP 2022
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It’s a disgrace.
@Seamus Gallen: Norway and Iceland are also not in IWC.
@Seamus Gallen: we should start Harpooin the People involved in the murder of these great Wales.
If Japan does this, the rest of the World should boycott every Japanese product.
@Brendan: Norway and Iceland do not abide (opting out) by the IWC rules around commercial whaling, so are we boycotting them too?
It makes no sense. Japan has been propping up the whale industry by $400m a year in subsidies in recent years. Nobody eats whale meat. They would be better off turning to whale tourism.
@Sean: Thanks for the very interesting article.
@Sean: was the industry hurt by the IWC rules though?
I’m just speculating, but if the caps are removed would it increase supply, meaning prices of whale meat goes down and thus more people can afford it leading to greater consumption and no need for Government subsidies.
@Hellenize Dublin: I really hope they don’t end up fishing for €400m worth of Whale meat. There aren’t that many of them left.
Sounds like one of those areas that has a strong lobby group that puts pressure on the government but doesn’t have a whole lot of actual support across a society – that’s my guess why they are restricting the hunting to their territorial zone. Widespread mass whale hunting would probably be unjustifiable for the population in general. Still rubbish though – some traditions should be let die.
@John McSweeney: it’s a criminal organisation that supports the trade. The meat is useless as its toxic. Whales are an essential species in all our oceans. For the Japanese to unilaterally take s decision like this is a flagrant disregard of international law and there should be consequences. #boycottjapan.
@Pat O’Brien: Norway and Iceland are not abiding members of the IWC either, are we boycotting them too?
I do believe in Whale conservation, so to address the original commentators point – the action of restricting lobbying groups should be the goal of most democracies. I’d like to see an outright ban on lobbying in Ireland or for it to be done in a public setting (town hall meeting format for instance).
@Hellenize Dublin: the town hall idea is a very good one.
It’s our culture boss!!!
@Doz: Just because something was ok years ago doest not mean its ok now the ocean have enough problem as it is without this too
@ross guilfoyle: faux outrage
@Doz: Brilliant lol!
600 under the guise of scientific research. How many from open hunting? Dreadful practice.
Think twice about buying another Toyota
If anyone thinks that the Japanese will limit Whale hunting to Japanese territorial waters then they believe in the fairies too!
The Japanese will hunt whales across any open seas over 1000’s of KM. They will not restrict themselves during a hunt at all!
They won’t be happy until Whales are extinct!
Anyone who gets in there way will bfind there boats rammed by the Japanese whaling fleet who are almost military in there organization.
Needs to be nipped in the bud
Why not start with the Rugby World Cup and the Olympics (and I’m a rugby fan).
Sounds like the whaling industry has a strong lobby group that puts pressure on the government but doesn’t actually have much support across the general Japanese society (perhaps most people are opposed or indifferent to it) – hence why they are self- restricting their hunting zones. Hopefully it’s one of those things where the market will eventually kill it as people decide not to eat it. A lot of whales will be hunted in the interim though which is BS – some traditions should be forced to die out.
Toyota, Nissan , Sony three brands to boycott. If you can think of anymore please add them. This is a despicable.
D!ckhe@ds
If only Whales had nuclear weapons!
The whalewars lads will be busy again.
@All A Big JOKE: They won’t be chasing them around Japanese waters
Often it feels like our government sells conservation and saving the planet as an Irish responsibility. Meanwhile the rest of the planet doesn’t give a hoot. Anything Ireland does isn’t going to make a difference other than restricting and taxing us into oblivion while other countries carry on regardless.
And when there’s nothing to kill,will we again turn on ourselves…
Some Japanese see it as part of their culture, and place great emphasis on this pathetic excuse when challenged about the ethics of the practice.
So these magnificent creatures will continue to be hunted down by human predators even as their numbers dwindle in the oceans of the world.
It’s about time culture was rejected internationally as an excuse to engage in the tormenting or senseless killing of animals.
Bull fighting continues in Spain and a few other countries under the same pretext.
The deliberate torturing to death of an animal is deemed a “heritage gem” and endorsed by successive Spanish governments despite all the evidence of extreme cruelty and suffering.
Hare coursing clubs in Ireland also claim their fun and games at the expense of an endangered mammal must be allowed because it’s part of a cultural asset without which Ireland would a mere shadow of itself.
Burning people alive as sacrifices and throwing virgins into volcanoes in homage to assorted gods and goddesses were once deemed cultural activities too. We have dispensed with these traditions. We should also consign attacks on endangered species and deliberate cruelty to animals masquerading as “culture” to the dustbin of history.
Trump hates sharks and is about to introduce seismic blasting in the ocean, producing noise the sound of a rocket launcher that will torture and kill many marine species, Humans kill over 100 million sharks a year – at that rate they will disappear and become extinct in the very near future. Boycott Japan for what they are going to do.
@GO GREEN: Seismic blasting in Arctic already happening – every 10 seconds, every hour every day. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK4O8FLv8dY&feature=youtu.be
They should grow whale meat at this stage… I’m joining Sea Shepherd :P
Not all cultural persuits are worth keeping, head-hunting and female genital mutilation spring to mind as well as whale-hunting.
No! No! No! It’s has got to be stopped!!!!!
Absolutely disgusting!! Killing these majestic animals for human commercial use is totally wrong and unethical!! The Japanese in general should feel so ashamed by this activity.
Whale meat is so laced with heavy metals that it’s virtually toxic. This is purely being forced by elitists whitin Japan as the average Joe has never even tasted it. At least there’s a likelyhood that the big knobs pushing for this poison themselves through consumption.
Boycott Japanese goods like their cars for starters? But aren’t the whales full of Fukushima cancer causing radiation as is much of the Pacific ocean. So the Japanese wants to get radioactive plutonium into their diet now? Sounds like those in the government there are doing a sideline in that toxic mammal meat now?
Any thing they produce and sell should shunned by the world
Their tourism sector should be boycotted
Money’s talks, wake up call needed, time to stop districting every thing around us
have your say