Catholic Priest Resigns After Using Wrong Word During Baptism
-Arango has been serving at St. Gregory Catholic Church in Phoenix, Arizona
-The Catholic priest tendered his resignation after investigations revealed he has been incorrectly performing baptisms for over 20 years rendering the rite invalid for thousands of Christians
-He asked his parishioners for forgiveness and announced that he had resigned as a priest of the St. Gregory parish in Phoenix, effective February 1
A catholic priest has tendered his resignation after investigations revealed he has been incorrectly performing baptisms for over 20 years rendering the rite invalid for thousands of Christians.
The priest identified as Rev. Andres Arango always would say, “We baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” instead of ” I baptize.”
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Arango has been serving at St. Gregory Catholic Church in Phoenix, Arizona.
According to a report by CBS News, the announcement was announced to the congregants by Father Thomas Olmsted in a letter dated January 14, 2022.
According to Olmsted, getting that word wrong nullified all of the rituals Arango performed using that language.
“If you were baptized using the wrong words, that means your baptism is invalid, and you are not baptized. You will need to be baptized,” Olmsted wrote.
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The Catholic priest explained that using ‘We’ was wrong in that, it is not the community that baptises a person, rather, Christ alone, who presides at all of the sacraments.
“The issue with using ‘We’ is that it is not the community that baptizes a person, rather, it is Christ, and Him alone, who presides at all of the sacraments, and so it is Christ Jesus who baptizes,” explained Olmsted.
The Diocese of Phoenix was quick to note it did not believe Arango had any intentions to harm the faithful or deprive them of the grace of baptism and the sacraments.
“I too am sincerely sorry that this error has resulted in disruption to the sacramental lives of a number of the faithful. This is why I pledge to take every step necessary to remedy the situation for everyone impacted,” Olmsted added.
Olmsted disclosed that after a careful study by the Diocese officials, all of the baptisms Arango performed up until June 17, 2021, are presumed invalid.
Baptisms performed by Arango after that date are valid and there is no need to repeat them.
Arango asked his parishioners for forgiveness and announced that he had resigned as a priest of the St. Gregory parish in Phoenix, effective February 1.
“It saddens me to learn that I have performed invalid baptisms throughout my ministry as a priest by regularly using an incorrect formula. I deeply regret my error and how this has affected numerous people in your parish and elsewhere,” said Arango in a statement.
