Sanremo, 3 May 2022 – Green light to baptismo of the children of homosexual couples, but separated from that of the other children and without mass. It was decided on bishop of Sanremo-VentimigliaAntonio Suetta, who, already protagonist in recent years of heated question and answer on the more or less provocative performances staged at the Sanremo Festival – in the lead those of the singer Achille Lauro, among the icons of certain LGBT fringes -, it defined rigid limits for the conferral of the sacrament of Christian initiation on children entrusted or adopted by persons of the same sex united in fact or civilly.
In the normative dictate of the episcopal decree it is specified that the celebration of baptism must take place “in order to avoid any form of recognition of the de facto couple”. An existential situation, according to Suetta, “not in accordance with Catholic morality”, at least considering the current Catechism which, not surprisingly, recently the German cardinal Reinhard Marx, one of the standard-bearers of the reformist wing in the conclave, asked to update. Apart from the evaluation of the nature of the relationship of the applicants for the sacrament, the prelate makes him the teaching of Pope francesco – sensitive on a pastoral level to welcoming gay couples -, reaffirming the legitimacy of baptism for every child “regardless of the specific condition of life”.
On the liturgical level the rite in Ventimiglia it is adjusted for the occasion, pending the general dispositions of the Holy See. It must therefore take place outside Mass and in a separate form from that foreseen for other children. An authorization from the bishop will also be required for its performance, which is not normally required in this type of celebration. “The decision to adapt the rite of baptism for the children of gay couples – explains Suetta himself to Quotidiano.net – is the sign of a particular delicacy and attention. In the usual situations the celebrant refers to the father and mother of the child. In this case, however, it is not possible, having two men or two women in front of you. For this reason, in order to avoid embarrassments, the same possible among other things on the occasion of the baptism of the child of a woman who died in childbirth, I decided to proceed with the adaptation and separate development of the celebration, which in any case remains a public act “.
The decree is dated to last November, but, after having passed in substantial silence in recent months, it is back in strict relevance in the light of the recent tight of the bishop on godparents and godmothers of baptism. Figures, which as reduced to mere formal fulfillment and social custom – is the premise of Suetta – are abolished ad experimentum for a three-year period, except for the ad hoc rite foreseen for the children of homosexual couples.