Against Baptism of Desire

Here is a portion of an ongoing discussion I have had with a Novus Ordo member about Baptism of Desire. One of three very destructive heresies rampant in the world today. The other two being Invincible Ignorance and Baptism of Blood. Contrary to what some people think the Council of Trent did not teach Baptism of Desire. Through mistranlation and some bad will and dishonesty on the part of modernists, this heresy was spread trying to use Trent as the backup. This is because Trent is an Infallible Council.


The only place that I know of that the Catholic Church even remotely appears to teach Baptism of Desire (BOD), is:

Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Sess. 6, Chap. 4: "In these words there is suggested
a description of the justification of the impious, how there is a transition from
that state in which a person is born as a child of the first Adam to the state of
grace and of adoption as sons of God through the second Adam, Jesus Christ our
savior; indeed, this transition, once the gospel has been promulgated, CANNOT
TAKE PLACE WITHOUT the laver of regeneration or a desire for it, AS IT IS
WRITTEN: Unless a man is born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot
enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5)."

It looks as though this teaches BOD. What if I were to say ... this swim cannot take place without water or the desire for it? One cannot do anything willingly without the desire to do it. So the transition to justification cannot take place without the laver or desiring to have it. Aside from this, the Latin word for "or" is Aut as you know, but 'Aut' always meant 'And' in the context of the councils. "...the laver of regeneration and a desire for it..." which means you need the laver and the desire for all adults in the sacraments of Baptism. Other examples would be:

Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, "Cantate Domino," 1441, ex cathedra: "The Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that all those who are outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans but also Jews [aut] or heretics and schismatics,

Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Sess. 6, Introduction:
"… strictly forbidding that anyone henceforth may presume to believe, preach or teach, otherwise than is defined and declared by this present decree."

Pope Pius IV, Council of Trent, Sess. 21, Chap. 2:
"Therefore holy mother Church… has decreed that it be considered as a law, which may not be repudiated or be changed at will without the authority of the Church."

Does Florence mean either Jews or Heretics or Jews AND Heretics. Does Trent mean either preach or teach or preaching and teaching. Does Trent also mean either repudiated or changed or repudiate and change. The only explanation I can come up with as to the reason for people thinking this teaches BOD is that, again people have a hard time accepting that you have to have ACTUAL membership in the Church and this teaching was the only one they could get to try to teach BOD. By the way this is the proper interpretation of this text, there is another that does not hold true to the text.

This is the only infallible teaching that looks like BOD, but when compared to other teachings in Trent it hardly makes sense. For one, immediately after Trent would apparently teach BOD it would contradict itself by saying " AS IT IS WRITTEN: Unless a man is born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot
enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5)." Scripture is infallible also so when it says no entrance to the kingdom without water and H.S. it means it strictly, which is why Trent said it is to be interpreted AS IT IS WRITTEN, i.e. no other interpretation can be applied to it. Second,

Pope Paul III, The Council of Trent, canons on the Sacrament of
Baptism, canon 5, ex cathedra: "If anyone says that baptism [the sacrament] is optional, that is, not necessary for salvation (cf. Jn. 3:5): let him be anathema."

BOD would make the Sacrament Baptism optional. We believe in one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins, not 2 or 3 BOD and some believe in the easily refutable BOBlood. Third,


Pope Paul III, The Council of Trent, On Original Sin, Session V, ex
cathedra: "By one man sin entered into the world, and by sin death... so that in them there may be washed away by regeneration, what they have contracted by generation, 'For unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God [John 3:5]."

Again, infallibly sin is washed away by Baptism. No mere desire here. Fourth,

Pope Paul III, The Council of Trent, canons on the Sacrament of
Baptism, Session 7, canon 2, ex cathedra: "If anyone shall say that real and natural water is not necessary for baptism, and on that account those words of Our Lord Jesus Christ: 'Unless
a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit' [John 3:5], are distorted into some sort of metaphor: let him be anathema."

If the desire were sufficient then water would not be necessary like this teaching expounds infallibly. The strict interpretation of Baptism ( the way it is obviously taught) is the only way to not distort this teaching "into some sort of metaphor".

As for these people who live perfectly good lives in other faiths, they are precisely the best candidates,assuming they are part of the elect, for God to shine His Divine Light on. To bring them into the true Church. The Church teaches that being in the Church means that you believe the whole Catholic Faith. Too many people think the Church is defined by buildings and other superficial things. It first starts with what you believe. Trent teaches on Justification:

Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Chap. 7, ex cathedra:"… the instrumental cause [of Justification] is the Sacrament of Baptism, which is 'the Sacrament of Faith,' without faith no one is ever justified…".

In order to be saved we need to be justified. In order to be justified we need to have the True Faith, In order to have True Faith we need to have Sacramental Baptism. None of the Schismatics, Heretics, Apostates, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists etc. have any of this if we follow the Infallible teachings of the Catholic Church. There is no remission of sins outside the Catholic Church. Remember the road to hell is paved with good intentions. So many good guys are on the way there. I guess no one wants to admit this, that's why we have these sort of heresies.

To give an answer based on logic, I think BOD is wrong because it makes proselytizing our non-catholic neighbours impossible. Why would we want to change their cozy ways when they can enter through the gate without the C.C. Here's one logical refuting of BOD I've heard. Why do we try to stop abortions. If the whole point of this life is to get to Heaven then we would be doing the greatest disservice to the unborn by stopping this process of abortion. If they didn't need Baptism or their parents desire for their Baptism was sufficient, then the greatest act of charity would be to kill them before they had a chance to lose their salvation through actual sin. Of course this is ludicrous. These babies are going to limbo and are deprived from the Beatific Vision forever. That is why Satan, not the Church invented heresies like BOD so he can get as many souls as he can.

Finally, I would like to say that I don't know of any other infallible teaching that could either teach BOD or appear to teach it more likely. Please notify me of one if there is one. Catechisms do not qualify as infallible because there is almost always little errors here or there. For instance, Catechism of Trent does appear to teach BOD, but it also teaches that no graces exist outside the Catholic Church. It probably meant to say Sanctifying Grace but none the less it is known that predisposing or preveinent grace exists outside the Church or else no one would ever Convert. God allows these errors so that we can know that only the Pope can teach with the benefit of infallibly, provided the proper Vatican I requirements are met.