Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
July 25, 2001
Vatican says Mormon baptism is not valid
Mormon belief about Trinity different from mainline Christianity
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — 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 actual notice, in Latin, was only three lines long. It said the question had been posed whether or not the baptism administered in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormons, is valid.
The response, it said, was "negative.''
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.''
The article also expressed a hope that cooperation among Catholics and Mormons will continue on shared moral and social concerns and that studies and dialogue would continue to promote mutual understanding and respect.
It said that as far back as the year 256 there are papal decisions in which baptisms performed by heretics are recognized as valid because "errors of a doctrinal nature have never been sufficient for contesting the validity of the sacrament of baptism.''
The Church's teaching is that "so great is the profit born by the name of Christ for faith and sanctification that whoever was baptized in the name of Christ'' receives his grace.
The Catholic Church teaches that the validity of the sacrament does not depend on the personal holiness of the person administering the sacrament nor on his belonging to the Catholic Church, it said.
When baptized members of other Christian communities are received into the Catholic Church, they are not re-baptized, it said.
"Even non-Catholics can validly administer baptism,'' the article said. "This validity is possible because Christ is the true minister of the sacrament.''
The article quoted the "Catechism of the Catholic Church,'' which says:
"In the case of necessity, anyone, even a non-baptized person, with the required intention can baptize by using the Trinitarian baptismal formula. The intention required is to will to do what the Church does when she baptizes. The Church finds the reason for this possibility in the universal saving will of God and the necessity of baptism for salvation.''
The article said it is precisely because people need baptism to be saved that the Catholic Church "has had the tendency to broadly recognize this correct intention, even in the case of a false understanding of the Trinitarian faith.''
But, the article said, over the years more and more doubts have been raised regarding Mormon beliefs and the validity of Mormon baptism, including doubts by people who were baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who later wanted to become Catholics.
The doctrinal congregation asked the U.S. bishops' conference to study the question and send a report to the Vatican. The June 5 response was based on that report and further studies by the congregation, the article said.
The article said the Church traditionally has had four tests for determining a valid baptism: matter, form, the intention of the minister and the disposition of the subject.
The only point on which Mormon baptism qualifies is matter, the fact that water is used, the article said.
The article said the Mormon baptism formula — "I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit'' — only appears to be Trinitarian.
"It is not a true invocation of the Trinity because the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, according to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are not three persons in whom the one divinity subsists, but three gods who form a divinity,'' the article said.
For the Mormons, it said, the divinity began "when the three gods decided to unite and form the divinity.''
The article said Mormons believe the Father is "an exalted man, originating from another planet, who acquired his divine status through a death similar to human death, the necessary way to divinization.''
"God the Father has a wife, the Heavenly Mother, with whom he shares responsibility for creation,'' it said the Mormons teach. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are their children.
In addition, the Mormon minister does not believe he is administering a sacrament established by Christ. Mormons teach baptism was begun by God and the first to be baptized was Adam, it said.
"It is not Christian baptism,'' the article said.
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