For decades there has been something of a pastoral fog around Catholic recognition of the baptism of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS/Mormons). Every priest who has received a Mormon into the Catholic Church has faced the question of "do we recognize LDS baptism or should this person be re-baptized?" The official answer was "We do recognize it" but many wondered how that decision had been made.

A three-line announcement in the July 16-17, 2001 issue of the Vatican newspaper l' Osservatore Romano indicated that the question had been restudied with a new conclusion, given June 5, in the negative. An accompanying article in the paper said the ruling "changes the past practice of not contesting the validity of this (LDS) baptism.

The article said that over the years more and more doubts have been raised regarding Mormon beliefs and the validity of Mormon baptism, including doubts by people who were baptized in the that church and who later wanted to become Catholics.

The Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith asked the U.S. Bishop's Conference to study the question and send a report to the Vatican. The Vatican's response was based on the U.S. report.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which itself requires all new members to receive Mormon baptism regardless of previous baptisms by other Christian faiths, is "neither concerned nor offended" by the Vatican's decision, spokesman Michael Otterson said in the Salt Lake (Utah) Tribune the day following the announcement . "We often work with other religions to strengthen home, family and community and to serve those in need," Ottersen said. "We value our longstanding relationships with Catholic Charities and other benevolent organizations sponsored by the Catholic Church."

"We believe that all people have a God-given right to worship how, where or what they may," he said. "Latter-day Saints embrace revelations both ancient and modern that proclaim Jesus Christ as the living, divine Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world."

The LDS Church teaches that God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are three separate entities within a nominally Trinitarian scheme. Mormons believe that both God and Christ have bodies of flesh and bone, while the Holy Ghost is spirit only. Further, LDS Church founder Joseph Smith wrote that, God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, originating from another planet, who acquired his divine status through a death similar to human death. According to Mormon teaching, God the Father has a wife, the Heavenly Mother, with whom he shares responsibility for creation. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are their children.

Catholics and most other Christians accept a historic Trinitarian view that God is a divine entity consisting of three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, but of one spiritual substance -- a being without a corporeal form -- who has existed eternally.

The LDS is not a member of the National Council of Churches in the USA or the World Council of Churches. The Vatican decision is seen in better perspective when viewed in the light of evaluations of LDS baptism by other mainline Christian churches.

The Orthodox do not consider Mormons to be Christians. The Episcopal Church in the USA has no binding policy, but the norm is to confer conditional baptism when Mormons are received.

The United Methodist Church recently went through a lengthy consultation process on this question with the assistance of a representative from the LDS Church. At the end, they decided that the LDS understanding of the apostolic tradition departed so much from the norm that they now recommend that they be received into the United Methodist Church through baptism.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) does not recognize Mormon baptism as Christian baptism, and recommends that they be offered such Christian baptism for the first time when they become Lutheran. An ELCA statement says, "Although Mormons may use water -- and lots of it -- and while they may say "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit," their teaching about the nature of God is substantially different from that of orthodox, creedal Christianity. Because the Mormon understanding of the word of God is not the same as the Christian understanding, it is correct to say that Christian baptism has not taken place. A former Mormon joining an ELCA congregation may be offered Christian baptism (not rebaptism)."

While this list is by no means complete, it does indicate that the CDF ruling fits into a consensus of Christian thinking on the subject, which in general finds Mormon doctrine to be so different as to be beyond the pale of what can be considered Christian. In a sense, our previous lack of clarity on the issue set us apart from the mainstream.

An article by Luis Ladraia, SJ, appeared in the same issue of l'Osservatore Romano as an authoritative commentary on the ruling. Ladaria made two points worth mentioning.

First, the Mormons themselves maintain that the Catholic Church apostatized in the first century, and consider all of our sacraments to be invalid.

Second, the author says that it should be emphasized that the CDF decision "is a response to a particular question regarding the Baptism of Mormons and obviously does not indicate a judgment on those who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Furthermore, Catholics and Mormons often find themselves working together on a range of problems regarding the common good of the entire human race. Therefore one can hope that through further studies, dialogue and good will, there can be progress in reciprocal understanding and mutual respect."

Bishop George Neiderauer, spiritual leader of Utah's 200,000 member Catholic community, said it is important that the baptism statement not be construed as "judging or measuring" the validity of the "spiritual relationship" Mormons have with Christ.

"There is a danger of misunderstanding in all this," he said. "This is an internal church decision to guide our sacramental practice and that's really all it is." Neiderauer noted that in baptizing all its new members, the LDS Church also indicates that it regards their own baptism as accomplishing something which is substantially different from that of all other baptismal rites.

Fr. Thomas Ryan directs the Paulist North American Office for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations