"Around America. Conquest and evangelization" The demonsby F.M. Dostoyevsky. A journey to moral "solidarityWhat is Jesus referring to when he recalls the invitation "Hear, O Israel"?The Dicastery for Legislative Texts The Vatican has issued an explanatory note on the impossibility of cancelling baptisms from the Parish Register, a practice that has been occasionally requested by people who wish to disassociate themselves from the Church. The document, signed by Cardinal Filippo Iannone and Archbishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta, recalls that Canon Law does not permit the modification or cancellation of entries made in the Register of Baptisms, it can only correct eventual transcription errors.
The reason is that this register "is not a list of members" belonging to the Catholic Church, but an objective statement of sacramental events that have occurred historically in the life of the Church. Baptism, which the Church administers only once, is a sacrament of a permanent character that constitutes the basis for the reception of the other sacraments. For this reason, along with baptism, other important and equally unique milestones are inscribed, such as confirmation, priestly ordination, marriage or perpetual religious profession.
It is not deleted, but the output can be noted.
The document clarifies that although the baptismal record cannot be removed, it can be recorded that a person wishes to leave the Church: "The baptismal record must be accompanied, if necessary, by the actus formalis defectionis ab Ecclesia Catholicawhen a person indicates a desire to leave the Catholic Church. This notation may be made at the request of the person concerned and in the context of a formal hearing, without implying the elimination of the sacramental data.
The purpose of keeping the inscription intact is not to accredit the current faith of the baptized person, but to "certify a historical ecclesial fact," which is juridically relevant to guarantee the valid administration of future sacraments. This becomes crucial, for example, for those who wish to marry in the Church or assume formal religious commitments.
Consistency with the entire canonical order
The note points out that the entire juridical order of the Church is aimed at preserving certainty about the sacraments received, beginning with baptism. It is recalled that even baptisms administered "sub conditione" (when there is doubt as to whether it was previously administered) do not imply a repetition of the sacrament, since the sacrament cannot be duplicated.
Finally, it is emphasized that the inscription in the register must be made with certainty about the event that has taken place, which is why the presence of witnesses at the baptism is obligatory, in accordance with canon 875 of the Code of Canon Law. Code of Canon Law. These witnesses do not replace the registry, but they make it possible to verify with certainty the reality of the sacrament celebrated.
With this note, the Holy See wishes to reaffirm the objective and irreversible dimension of baptism in the Catholic tradition and to avoid the growing tendency to request "symbolic erasures" that have no place in theology or in the law of the Church.
The Supreme Courts are making their pronouncements
The Supreme Court of Spain upheld in its ruling No. 1747/2008, published on November 19, 2008, the impossibility of canceling baptismal inscriptions in parish books at the request of those requesting apostasy. In this ruling, the high court determined that these records do not constitute a file subject to data protection legislation, but are a reflection of historical facts-in this case, the administration of the sacrament of baptism-and, therefore, cannot be modified or deleted.
In several European countries there have been judicial and administrative pronouncements on the possibility of removing or modifying baptismal entries in parish registers, in response to requests for apostasy or on data protection grounds.
In France, on February 2, 2024, the Council of State, France's highest administrative court, ruled that the Catholic Church is not obliged to remove baptismal inscriptions from its registers. The court argued that these registers constitute the trace of a historical fact, although it is permitted to note in the margin of the register the will of the person to renounce the Church.
In January 2024, the Belgian Data Protection Authority upheld a citizen who requested the removal of his data from the baptismal register after declaring his renunciation of the Church. The diocese of Ghent appealed this decision, and the case is pending before the Brussels Court of Appeal for the Markets. This ruling contrasts with previous decisions in other countries, such as Ireland, where such records have been allowed to be retained..
These cases reflect an ongoing debate about the collision between religious freedom, the "right" to apostasy and the protection of personal data in the context of the Catholic Church's sacramental records.
