If you are planning to have your child baptized, you should be aware of the following regulations:
* Unless you receive prior permission, the child is to be baptized in your parish, which is the parish in which you are registered or where you live. All Catholics in the United States belong to a full territorial parish by virtue of their address.
* You will be required to make a pledge to raise the child in the faith. If there is sufficient doubt in the priest's mind that the parents will not raise the child in the faith, he can refuse to do the baptism.
* According to the new Code of Canon Law, the sponsors for the child (godparents) must both be baptized and one must be a practicing Roman Catholic. The new Code of Canon Law also insists that the Roman Catholic sponsor must have received both the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation.
* Requests for a baptismal date should be made two months in advance. Parents haveing their first child baptized must participate in a preparation program. Preparation programs are held monthly. Baptisms will be scheduled on Sundays following the noon Mass.
