By María León
TUCSON, Arizona – Thousands of baptisms performed in Catholic churches in the United States were annulled after it was discovered that a priest had used an incorrect word in the ceremony, which has led to affected families to question the validity of other sacraments.
The Diocese of Phoenix, Arizona, has recognized that for almost 25 years, when administering the sacrament, the priest Andrés Arango used the formula “We baptize you” instead of saying “I baptize you”.
“The problem with using the ‘We’ is that it is not a community that grants the sacrament of baptism to a person, but it is Christ and he alone who presides over all the sacraments. That is why it is Christ Jesus who baptizes”, said the bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix, Thomas J. Olmsted, in statements sent to Efe.
The bishop emphasized that in no way Arango acted in bad faith and that the priest is terribly mortified by this whole situation.
Thousands of invalid baptisms
All this chaos began after the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican determined last year that baptisms carried out using the word “We” are not valid.
In the case of Arango, all the baptisms he administered from 1998 to 17 of June 2021 have no validity before the Catholic Church.
The Diocese of Phoenix does not know exactly how many baptisms have been invalidated, but estimates it to be “thousands”.
Doubts among the affected families
This news fell like a bucket of cold water for many of the families, many of them of Hispanic origin like that of María de la Cruz Huerta, whose daughter was baptized by Arango.
“I cannot believe that a single word can eliminate a sacrament. It cannot be that a ceremony is invalidated in this way,” Huerta, whose family has been Catholic for generations, told Efe.
He indicated that he had never heard of anything similar, and what worries him most is that this could affect other sacraments such as first communion, confirmation and to married couples who were baptized by Father Arango.
The Diocese of Phoenix has set up a website to answer these types of questions, although it is not clear how this issue would affect others. sacraments that those baptized by Father Arango could take.
What he has recommended to his parishioners is that they not take the Eucharist, or communion, if they have not been baptized “correctly.”
“It’s incredible, can you imagine? Perhaps many people have already left the state, returned to Mexico or are in other cities and do not know that their baptism is not valid,” said Huerta.
A new baptism
The Diocese of Phoenix has asked all affected parishioners to communicate to coordinate a new baptism, a step that Huerta is hesitant to take at this time.
“I feel confused. Baptism is a fundamental part of our faith. I don’t know if I have the confidence to carry it out again and in the same church,” said the Hispanic.
For its part, the Diocese told Efe that Arango resigned his position as parish priest of the Church of San Gregorio earlier this month.
The priest was not stripped of his ministry and is now dedicated full time to contacting the affected families and trying to help all those who were baptized incorrectly.
“I am saddened to learn that I have performed invalid baptisms throughout my ministry as a priest regularly using an incorrect formula. I deeply regret my mistake and the way in which this has affected numerous people,” Arango said in a letter published on the website of the Diocese of Phoenix.
For their part, a group of parishioners has asked for the reinstatement of the priest in his position. In the petition seeking community support, parishioners have described the priest’s work as positive. “Father Andrés Arango has revitalized the church community… giving parishioners and faith seekers a spiritual home with doors open to all.”
For now, the Diocese has already begun to bring out new baptisms to try to remedy the mistake made.
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