(USNewsMag.com) – For 20 years, Reverend Andres Arango, a priest of the Diocese of Phoenix, AZ baptized Catholics. According to the Church, he was performing sacred rituals incorrectly. Now, thousands of baptisms have been deemed invalid and the reverend has stepped back from the church.
Last month, Bishop Thomas Olmsted of the Diocese of Phoenix notified his flock that Reverend Arango performed the baptisms incorrectly. The issue was with a single word – “we.” When Arango baptized the faithful, he always said, “We baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
Unfortunately, what the priest should have been saying was, “I baptize…” because Christ is the one who baptizes a person, not the community.
US priest, Reverend Andres Arango, used the wrong words while baptising babies for over 20 years – leaving thousands of baptisms technically invalidated.https://t.co/4oPjPnL4fK#TheProjectTV pic.twitter.com/w3fk2yPtBz
— The Project (@theprojecttv) February 16, 2022
In 2020, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith clarified the use of “we” during baptisms made them invalid. Arango resigned from his position in the church, saying he was sad to learn the baptisms he performed were incorrect. He went on to apologize to those who were hurt and asked for “prayers, forgiveness, and understanding.”
The diocese said Arango is still in good standing as a priest. The baptisms he performed after June 17, 2021, are all valid.
Do you think Arango should have resigned from his position in the church?
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