154 Q. Is Baptism necessary to salvation?  A. Baptism is necessary to salvation, because without it we cannot enter into the kingdom of Heaven.

Those who through no fault of theirs die without Baptism, though they have never committed sin, cannot enter Heaven—­neither will they go to Hell.  After the Last Judgment there will be no Purgatory.  Where, then, will they go?  God in His goodness will provide a place of rest for them, where they will not suffer and will be in a state of natural peace; but they will never see God or Heaven.  God might have created us for a purely natural and material end, so that we would live forever upon the earth and be naturally happy with the good things God would give us.  But then we would never have known of Heaven or God as we do now.  Such happiness on earth would be nothing compared to the delights of Heaven and the presence of God; so that, now, since God has given us, through His holy revelations, a knowledge of Himself and Heaven, we would be miserable if left always upon the earth.  Those, then, who die without Baptism do not know what they have lost, and are naturally happy; but we who know all they have lost for want of Baptism know how very unfortunate they are.

Think, then, what a terrible crime it is to willfully allow anyone to die without Baptism, or to deprive a little child of life before it can be baptized!  Suppose all the members of a family but one little infant have been baptized; when the Day of Judgment comes, while all the other members of a family—­father, mother, and children—­may go into Heaven, that little one will have to remain out; that little brother or sister will be separated from its family forever, and never, never see God or Heaven.  How heartless and cruel, then, must a person be who would deprive that little infant of happiness for all eternity—­just that its mother or someone else might have a little less trouble or suffering here upon earth.

155 Q. Who can administer Baptism?  A. The priest is the ordinary minister of Baptism; but in case of necessity anyone who has the use of reason may baptize.

“Ordinary”—­that is, the one who has a right to baptize and generally does; others can baptize only in case of necessity.

“Priest” and all above him—­bishops, and the Pope; for they have all the power the priest has, and more besides.  “Minister” is the name given here to one who performs any of the sacred rites or ceremonies of the Church.  “Necessity.”  When the ordinary minister cannot be had and when Baptism must be given; for if it is not absolutely necessary to give the Baptism, then you must wait for the ordinary minister.

“Anyone.”  Even persons not Catholics or not Christians may, in case of necessity, baptize a person wishing to receive Baptism, if they know how to baptize and seriously wish to do what the Church of Christ does when it baptizes.  You cannot baptize a person against his will.  Neither can you baptize an infant whose parents are unwilling to have the child baptized, or when the child will not be brought up in the Catholic religion.  But if the child is dying, it can and should be baptized, even without the consent of the parents.