(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 17.04.2025).- On Thursday, April 17, a Note from the Dicastery for Legislative Texts was published, explaining why it’s not possible to annul a Baptism from the Parish Register.
Below is a ZENIT translation of the Note into English.
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Explanatory Note from the Dicastery for Legislative Texts on the Prohibition of Annulments in the Parish Baptism Register
Canon Law (CCL) does not permit the modification or cancellation of entries made in the Baptismal Register, except to correct possible transcription errors. The purpose of this Register is to provide certainty regarding certain records, allowing verification of their actual existence.
Canon 535 of the CCL requires every parish to maintain its own Baptismal Register. This Register, which the parish is obligated to keep (canon 535 § 1 CCL), is used to record the Sacraments, such as Baptism, which the Catholic Church administers only once.
Since Baptism is the condition for receiving the other Sacraments, along with the Baptism record, the administration of the other Sacraments that cannot be repeated (Confirmation and Holy Orders) is eventually recorded, as well as other acts such as the celebration of the Sacrament of Matrimony (which cannot be renewed unless the bond is declared null), perpetual profession in a religious institute, which in turn prohibits access to marriage (can. 535 § 2 CCL), change of rite (can. 535 § 2 CCL) and adoption (can. 877 § 3 CCL), which generates a matrimonial impediment in the Church (can. 1094 CCL).
The Baptismal Register, therefore, represents the objective record of sacramental actions, or those related to the Sacraments, historically performed by the Church. These are historical ecclesiastical events that must be taken into account for the purposes of good administrative and pastoral order, for theological reasons, for legal certainty, and also for the eventual protection of the rights of the interested party and of third parties.
Consequently, it is not permitted to modify or delete the data recorded in the Registry, except to correct possible transcription errors. Although canon 535 of the Code of Canon Law does not explicitly state this, this absolute prohibition is undoubtedly inferred from the imperative tenor of the norms prescribing the registration and certification of acts. If the Church did not have these general norms on the obligatory nature of the Baptismal registry, it would not be possible for the Church herself to carry out sacramental activity, since the «valid» reception of the Sacraments requires certainty about the reception of Baptism. A minister cannot permit the celebration of other Sacraments if the reception of Baptism is not verified.
On the other hand, any new relevant circumstance indicated by Canon Law must be added to the Baptismal Register by legal provision, which, as a general rule, must be brought to the attention of the parish priest, as the person responsible for the Registry. This is the case, as already stated, with the effective reception of Confirmation, Holy Orders, the celebration of Marriage, Religious Profession, change of rite, and adoption. Failure to register these acts would impede the normal and simple administration of the Sacraments in the Church, so it is not a reasonable alternative to have to investigate, case by case and in individual cases, the effective prior reception of these Sacraments, a requirement for receiving other Sacraments.
The Baptismal Register is not a list of members, but a record of the Baptisms that have taken place. Since its sole purpose is to certify
a historical ecclesiastical «fact», it does not purport to prove a person’s religious faith or the fact that a person is a member of the Church. In fact, the Sacraments received and the registrations made do not in any way restrict the free will of those Christian believers who, by virtue of these Sacraments, decide to leave the Church.
The «Actus formalis defectionis ab Ecclesia Catholica» must be added to the Baptismal Register, if necessary, when a person indicates they wish to leave the Catholic Church. Although the data contained in the Church Registers cannot be suppressed, in the best interests of themselves and all those involved, at the simple request of the interested party, it is permissible to add their statements of intention to this effect within the framework of an adversarial trial.
Baptismal registration allows for the issuance of certificates of Baptismal reception if the interested party intends to receive other Sacraments. In such a case, in addition to certifying the interested party’s baptismal status, the registration provides a guarantee against third parties in the Catholic Church, both in the case of marriage celebrations and vis-à-vis those whose mission is to ensure the valid administration of subsequent Sacraments or the assumption of specific commitments (such as perpetual profession in religious life), which require Baptism.
The entire canonical order is consistent with these principles. Canon 869 of the CCL, for example, does not at all represent a new administration of Baptism. It only allows the minister to administer Baptism «sub conditione» in cases where it is uncertain whether a subject — usually a child — has received the Sacrament. In such cases, there is no new administration of Baptism, since the minister makes it a condition of the efficacy of his acts that he does not wish to administer Baptism if the subject has already been baptized. In fact, the condition of being baptized is an «objective» element, and it is not possible to baptize someone who has already been baptized, since this action would simply be «null and void» from a sacramental point of view.
For acts to be recorded, it is necessary to have certain knowledge of the event that took place. Therefore, canon 875 of the Code of Canon Law requires the presence of witnesses at the celebration of Baptism — as with other non-baptismal Sacraments — so that their attestation can provide the Registrar with the necessary certainty of the event that occurred, which must be recorded. This testimony cannot replace the Registry, as it is only an element of certainty for the person who must make the registration.
Filippo Iannone O. Carm.
Prefect
Juan Ignacio Arrieta
Secretary
Vatican City, April 7, 2025
Translation of the Italian original into Spanish by ZENIT’s Editorial Director and, into English, by Virginia M. Forrester
