The number of invalid baptisms can reach several thousand.
Andres Arango, a Catholic priest from Phoenix, Arizona, has apologized to parishioners and resigned as a pastor after it turned out that he had performed the rite of baptism incorrectly for two decades of ministry. All the children baptized by him, among whom there are already many adults, now need to repeat the ceremony.
This is reported by Newsweek.
The unfortunate mistake was reported to the flock of Phoenix by Bishop Thomas Olmsted in a special message.
“It is with sincere pastoral concern that I inform the faithful that the baptisms performed by the Reverend Andres Arango of the Diocese of Phoenix are not valid,” he wrote.
It turns out that during the ceremony, Father Andres used the phrase: “We baptize you in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” According to church canons, the use of the plural in this case is unacceptable, since baptism is performed not by the community, but by Christ personally. Therefore, the canonical is the phrase that begins with the words: “I baptize you.”
“I don’t think that Father Andres intended to harm the believers or deprive them of the grace of baptism and the sacraments,” the bishop said, calling this incident an unfortunate mistake that needs to be corrected.
The Diocese of Phoenix has posted a contact form for anyone who believes he or his child has been improperly baptized. Diocese spokeswoman Cathy Burke told Newsweek she doesn't know the exact number of invalid baptisms Arango has performed, but it could be in the thousands.
“If you were baptized with the wrong words, it means that your baptism is invalid and you are not baptized,” said Bishop Thomas Olmsted and promised to take all necessary steps to “correct the situation for all those affected.”
We will remind, earlier the Italian police detained 40-year-old priest Francesco Spagnese, who was charged with embezzlement of funds from the church treasury.
