Description:
Text transcribed from caption: C-45943 CONTROVERSIAL BAPTISM MARLBORO, Mass.
-- Three-month-old Nathaniel Ryan Morreale is baptized on the steps of
Immaculate Conception Church in Marlboro, Mass., by Father Joseph O’Rourke,
a Jesuit priest from New York, who defied Boston’s Cardinal Humberto
Madeiros and his own Jesuit superior by performing the ceremony. The baby has
become the center of an abortion controversy between his mother and the
Catholic parish. The refusal of the parish priests to baptize the child was
based primarily on the endorsement by the baby’s mother, Mrs. Carol
Morreale, of a proposed abortion clinic in Marlboro, one supported by New
York abortion advocate William Baird. In a statement, Cardinal Madeiros said
the refusal of the priests to preform the baptism was taken “in accordance
with clear requirements of the Church’s teaching as to the serious
responsibility of parents to guarantee the Catholic upbringing of their
children.” At the ceremony are, from left: godparents Linda Morreale and
John Thompson, Mr. Baird, parents Carol and Daniel Morreale, and Father
O’Rourke. The priest, who had been “expressly forbidden” by his
superior to conduct the baptism, is assigned to the Interfaith Center on
Corporate Responsibility at the National Council of Churches and is a
director of a group called Catholics for a Free Choice. Credit Must Read:
RELIGIOUS NEWS SERVICE PHOTO (B-MAS-8D-74-DS)
Creator:
United Press International. (publisher)
Subject names:
Religious News Service--Archives., Catholic Church--Clergy., Morreale, Nathaniel Ryan., Morreale, Carol., Morreale, Daniel., Morreale, Linda., Thompson, John., O'Rourke, Joseph., Baird, Bill., Catholics for a Free Choice (Organization)
Topics:
Baptism--Massachusetts--Marlboro., Baptism--Catholic Church., Sacraments--Catholic Church., Abortion--Religious aspects--Catholic Church.
Geographic subjects:
Marlboro (Mass.)
URL:
https://digital.history.pcusa.org/islandora/object/islandora:361201