A Catholic priest in Arizona learns the hard way that “words have their own meaning” after a blunder of a word that forced the Catholic Church to cancel thousands of baptisms he did for many years!
Ecclesiastical officials report that the priest, Andres Arango, used the first singular instead of the first plural during baptisms (I baptize you in the name of the Father
of the Son and the Holy Spirit instead of the correct “We baptize you” – in English the mistake is in the words “I” instead of “We”).
Catholics believe that only Jesus Christ has the power to baptize – not the wider community or the Church.
Mr Arango resigned and apologized.
According to the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, the Most Reverend Arango mispronounced the words used in the Catholic standard for baptisms. until June 17, 2021. The Catholic Church has declared invalid all the baptisms he performed up to that date!
Church records show that Mr. Arango arrived in the Phoenix area as a pastor in February 2013. It is not clear how many baptisms are considered invalid, although local media report thousands of invalid baptisms. Ecclesiastical officials in Phoenix are calling for the appearance of people who were baptized by Mr. Arango or who had baptized their children.
In a letter to the local Catholic Church, Bishop of Phoenix Thomas Olmsted said that a “careful study” of the standard, conducted by local officials in consultation with Vatican officials in Rome, led them to declare baptisms invalid.
Deepak Sarma, a professor of religion at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, told the BBC that in religion, single words can be “powerful” and “transformative”.
The Catholic Church believes that baptism is a prerequisite for Salvation.
Professor Sarma said that baptism – like rituals and activities in all religions – is a key part of religious identity and in this case “makes one a catholic”.
“Different traditions, “Whether it’s Catholicism, Judaism or Hinduism, they all have different standards that you have to follow to become a fully authentic Catholic, for example,” he said.
Speaking to local media, the church members who knew Mr. Arango expressed their sympathy for their mistake. “I do not think it was something he did on purpose,” Evelyn Ortega, a woman whose baby’s baptism is now invalid, told 12 News.
bbc.com
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