Folia Canonica 4. (2001)
STUDIES - John D. Faris: A Canonical Examination of the Acquisition, Consequences and Loss of Membership in a Church - A Catholic Perspective
142 JOHN D. FARIS Acquisition of Membership In English legal usage, a member is defined as “one of the persons constituting a family, partnership, association, corporation, guild, court, legislature or the like.”22 In the civil sphere of society, a person becomes a member of a social unit by birth or adoption (e.g., a family), naturalization (e.g., nation), election (e.g., legislature), appointment (e.g., supreme court), decision (e.g., boy scouts), reception (e.g., union or guild), or legal fiction (e.g., corporation). In the case of ecclesial membership, while there is a free-will decision on the part of the individual or his/her parents (in the case of infant baptism), a person does not become a member in virtue of a personal decision. Instead, a person is always received into the Church. It should be recalled that a person cannot administer baptism to him/herself. One attains membership in the Church of Christ in only one way: baptism by the pouring of water and the invocation of the Holy Trinity.23 One becomes a member in the Catholic Communion of Churches in two ways: (1) a non-baptized person receives baptism in the Catholic Church; or (2) a baptized non-Catholic is received into full communion with the Catholic Church.24 Baptism The Catholic Church regards baptism as unrepeatable; therefore, only a non-baptized human can be baptized.25 The requirements for the valid administration of baptism are any form of washing with natural water with the invocation of the name of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.26 Any person (even a non-baptized person) can validly administer baptism; both codes articu22 ■■ J. R. Nolan - J. M. Nolan-Haley, Black’s Law Dictionary, St. Paul, MN. 1990, s.v. Member. 23 CCEO c. 675 § 1 ; CIC c. 849. 24 Although catechumens are members neither of the Church of Christ nor of the Communion of Catholic Churches, the Catholic Church does accord them certain rights and prerogatives of the baptized. See CCEO cc. 9 and 587 and CIC cc. 206 and 788. 25 • CCEO c. 679 - Every person not yet baptized and only such a person is capable or receiving baptism. See also CIC c. 864. The Catholic Church provides for “conditional baptism” in cases where there is serious doubt regarding the valid administration of the sacrament. Doubts can arise regarding the very fact of administration of the baptism (cf. CCEO c. 680 §2 and CIC cc. 869 §1 and 870) or the validity of the administration of baptism in a non-Catholic ecclesial community {CIC c. 869 §2). 26 CCEO c. 675 § 1 and CIC c. 849. In the case of urgent necessity, baptism can be lawfully administered by fulfilling only the requirements for validity (CCEO c. 676 and CIC c. 850).
