Catholic bishops told to withhold parish information from Mormons

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_9151351

Catholic bishops told to withhold parish information from Mormons
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:05/04/2008 02:50:56 PM MDT

The Roman Catholic Church recently directed dioceses worldwide not to give parish information to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The move is "an effort to block posthumous rebaptisms," according to an article reported Friday by Catholic News Service. CNS cites an April 5 letter from the Vatican Congregation for Clergy that directs all Catholic bishops "to keep the Latter-day Saints from microfilming and digitizing information contained" in parish registers.

A main tenet of LDS Church doctrine is to baptize posthumously, by proxy, all who have died without an LDS baptism, to enable them the opportunity to accept the faith in an afterlife. Baptisms for the dead are performed in LDS temples worldwide. The church collects birth, death, christening, marriage and other related information of deceased people, from archives and registers of churches and denominations, when access is permitted.

The Vatican letter calls LDS baptisms for the dead a "detrimental practice" and directs each Catholic diocesan bishop "not to cooperate with the erroneous practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," CNS reported.

LDS Church spokesman Scott Trotter said today that he hasn't seen the Vatican letter. "It would really be premature for us to say anything," he said. Church leaders will obtain and review the letter Monday, he said.