No LDS Access to Catholic Records
Concern over Baptism for the Dead Caused the Vatican to Forbid it
The Vatican issued this statement over concern that the records might be used in baptizing former Catholics into the Mormon church after their death.
Baptism for the dead is one of the more controversial practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jewish groups have complained about Holocaust victims with no living relatives having undergone the posthumous rituals, and a Russian complained of the uses to which the Mormons might put Catholic parish membership registries
The controversial Mormon practice of baptism of the dead has grabbed headlines again because an order from the Vatican prohibits Catholic dioceses from sharing parish records with the Mormon church. Officials for the Roman Catholic Church called the Mormon practice “detrimental” and warned local priests not to cooperate with the erroneous practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, according to the Catholic News Service.
Baptism for the Dead
Mormon doctrine allows for the deceased ancestors of an individual to be baptized by proxy in the afterlife. According to statements from the late Gordon B. Hinckley and other members of the church, the deceased is free in the afterlife to accept the statements or not. The purpose of baptism for the dead is to give a soul a chance at a better afterlife than it might otherwise have had.
Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald stands by the decision and states that he does not want the records to be used for detrimental practices, according to the Deseret News. He also noted that many other members continue to use the parish records, but that Mormons will no longer be able to use the records when conducting genealogical research.
Baptism for the Dead Controversy Continues
The Church has been twice asked to stop baptizing dead Holocaust victims and has since increased its efforts to make sure that those who undergo baptism for the dead have ancestors who are currently practicing Mormons, but other faiths do not consider the Mormon baptisms for the dead to be valid. As one BBC journalist commented, many people feel it is wrong to baptize someone into the Mormon faith after he can no longer make the decision to become a Mormon by himself.
The Effects of the Vatican's Decision
The practice of baptism for the dead remains controversial, but it the decision of the Vatican not to let Mormons view the parish records for genealogical research may have more far reaching effects. Even though many people disagree with the practice of baptism for the dead by proxy, the practice does cause the Salt Lake-based Mormon church to maintain one of the largest genealogical libraries in the world. Many peple use Mormon resources when trying to track down their roots.
The comments left by readers of the Deseret News were less than positive, with a few posters calling the Catholics responsible for this decision “bigots.” Representatives of the Vatican are aware that the decision may strain relations between the two faiths, but insist that the reason is not to prevent people from tracing their roots, but rather to keep the records from being used for religious practices the Roman Catholics consider to be in error.
“Vatican Letter Directs Bishops to Keep Records from Mormons.” Chaz Muth. Catholic News Service. May 1, 2008
“Catholics Told Not to Give LDS Parish Data.” Geoffrey Fattah. Deseret News. May 4, 2008. Provo, Utah.
BBC Religion and Ethics – Baptism for the Dead
