Do the parents have to be married in order for thier child to be baptized in a Catholic church?

Answer 1

No.

But they have to promise that they will raise the child as a Catholic.

If there is something in the parent's lifestyle that makes the priest think that they will not uphold this promise then he can delay the baptism of the child.

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

I don't think so. I'm not married and when I was looking to have my child baptized, I spoke to the Pastor at my church and all you had to do was become a member. I wasn't prepared to do that (I practice seldom, but wanted my son baptized Catholic since I am) so he ended up being baptized Nondenominational. I guess it depends on the church because I had also heard about people having their child baptized in a church and not being a member. The best you can do is call and ask, but not having been married in a Catholic Church shouldn't be an issue.

Answer 3

You'd have to check with the priest. The child can definitely be baptized if someone is willing to raise it as a catholic. The question would be whether or not the priest would permit you both to stand up as an unmarried couple during the ceremony. Essentially you would be agreeing to raise the child so that the child would believe that his parents not being married was a sin and that might present some priests with a problem.

Answer 4

What are the requirements for baptism?
For a child to be baptized in the Roman Catholic Church, there must be a basis for hope that the child will be raised in the Catholic faith. In practice, this generally means that at least one parent is Catholic. Many dioceses in the United States require parents to participate in some preparation before the baptism of their children. Each child brought forward for baptism must also have at least one godparent who is a confirmed, practicing Catholic over the age of 16.

What about single parents or parents who weren't married in the church?
We welcome every parent to bring your child forward for baptism, no matter what your circumstances may be. Parents who were not married in the Roman Catholic Church might consider the possibility of having your marriage convalidated in the church; parish staff will gladly assist you in that process. It is not necessary for baptizing your child.

Answer 5

I used to be catholic. My husband and I wanted our twin boys baptized. The priest asked us if we were planning to have any more children anytime soon. I told him 3 babies in 18 months ( we had a baby daughter) was all we were going to do. I wasn't having any more. He asked what kind of birth control we were using ( what does this have to do with my twins salvation) . I told him I was on the pill. He said he couldn't baptize my babies because I was breaking the rules of the church. So I had to call him back a few days later and lie to get them baptized.

He also asked why hadn't he seen us at church (hello I was bedridden for months) we told him his mass started at 9 am and ended at 10...we were dairy farmers and that we were busy until 11am, then a brief rest and we went back to work at 3pm, 7 days a week all year long. So he pulled out his notepad and marked down our address. In the mail came envelopes with the churches name on them. We were supposed to put money in them and send it in. We called the priest. We asked him what the heck was this? He said send the money, we will do the praying for you.

Now what kind of idiots did they think we were?

Needless to say when Jehovah's Witnesses came to our door a year later we were thrilled to have honest hearted people teaching us the bible at last. We had searched the whole year to find a church we liked because we could see the hypocrisy in the catholic church for ourselves. But none of the others did it for us.

We have since come to follow the bibles way of baptism. That is when a person comes to an accurate knowledge of Jehovah and his purposes and wants to follow Jesus footsteps then they are immersed under the water as a sign we are dead to our old life and come up to give the sign to everyone we want to serve our God.

We're still Witnesses and are in a spiritual paradise with all of our 6 children serving Jehovah with all our hearts.

Answer 6

No. In the Strict Catholic Church, the child will have to go under the baby's mother's last name only, not the father's. If the baby's parents are married, the baby's last name goes under the father's last name.

Answer 7

I don't think so. I don't have personal experience with this, but in Sex and the City, Miranda and Steve get their kid Brady baptized in Steve's Catholic church, and they weren't married.

Answer 8

Nope.....they just have to promise to raise the child in the Catholic Religion & the godparents must be Catholic & also make this promise.

Answer 9

Ah HA! Thought you'd trick us, eh? Catholics are not supposed to have sex outside of marriage. Since they're not married, they're obviously not having sex and they can't have a baby. Since there's no baby, there's no one to baptize.

Answer 10

No not at all. The baptism (in case of an emergency) can be done by the laity, even a complete stranger. Just take water and say "I batise you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

And mean it of course ;)