Frenchman, 71, takes Catholic Church to court in landmark case after it refuses to nullify his baptism

By
Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 8:44 PM on 30th January 2012

An elderly French man is fighting to make a formal break with the Catholic Church, in a case that could have far-reaching effects.

Rene LeBouvier, 71, has taken the church to court over its refusal to let him nullify his baptism after losing his faith in the religion.

Though he was raised in a community where Catholicism dominated every walk of life, Rene changed his views in the 1970s after spending time with ‘free thinkers’.

Fight: Frenchman Rene LeBouvier is taking the Catholic church to court in a bid to reverse his baptism

Fight: Frenchman Rene LeBouvier is taking the Catholic church to court in a bid to reverse his baptism

As he didn’t believe in God anymore, the pensioner thought it would be more honest
to leave the church and wrote to his diocese and asked to be
un-baptised in 2000.

Ten years later, LeBouvier wanted to go
further.

Paedophile scandals and the pope preaching
against condoms in AIDS-racked Africa, helped strengthen LeBouvier’s opposition to the religion.

He called the pope’s position on Africa
“criminal.”

'Criminal': The 71-year-old was outraged by Pope Benedict XVI's comments regarding the use of condoms in Africa

‘Criminal’: The 71-year-old was outraged by Pope Benedict XVI’s comments regarding the use of condoms in Africa

Again, he asked the church to strike him from baptism
records, but when the priest told him it wasn’t possible, he took the church
to court.

French law states that citizens have the right to leave organisations if
they wish and, last October, a judge in Normandy ruled in his favour.

However, the diocese has since appealed and the case is pending.

Scandal: Bishops listen to reporters' questions at the end of a press conference at Vatican Radio office, in Rome

Scandal: Bishops listen to reporters’ questions at the end of a press conference at Vatican Radio office, in Rome

Loup Desmond, who has followed the case for the French
Catholic newspaper La Croix, says he thinks it could set a legal
precedent and open the way for more demands for de-baptism.

Up to now, observers say the de-baptism trend has been marginal, but it’s on the rise thanks to scandals within the church and its refusal to keep up with the times.

In neighboring Belgium, the Brussels Federation of Friends of Secular Morality reports that 2,000 people asked to be de-baptized in 2010.

Opposition: Human rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell (front right) leads thousands of people ready to march through central London to protest against the State visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Britain in 2010

Opposition: Human rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell (front right) leads thousands of people ready to march through central London to protest against the State visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Britain in 2010

The newspaper Le Monde estimated that about 1,000 French people a year ask to have their baptisms annulled.

Christian Weisner, who is with the German branch of the grassroots movement We Are Church, explained that people across Europe still want religion, and they want to believe, but it has become very difficult within the Catholic Church.

He said: ‘It’s the way that the Roman Catholic Church has not followed the new approach of democracy, the new approach of the women’s issue and there is really a big gap between the Roman Catholic Church and modern times.’

Here’s what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts,
or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

His baptism is a historical fact, recorded in an organization’s own records. All organizations keep records in a manner which suits their purposes. As to use of the baptism numbers for some reason by that organization, that is an internal matter. Why should anyone else care.

Well, never believed that but watch out: another incarnation of the good old atheistic USSR is coming back, this time to United Europe where the Marxism appeared. It has also begun with the non-violent revolution in Febrary of 1917, I think you know the rest…
Oh, yes, you may start with: “Oh no, how dare you to compare…” and on, and on, and on…
Been there, done that…

I don’t understand M. LeBouvier’s reasoning. He does not need the Church’s ‘permission’ to leave. He is free to believe anything he wants, and nobody and no institution can change the fact. I was baptised as a Roman Catholic, lost my faith when still at school, and many years later I converted to Judaism. My previous status was never an issue with my Rabbi, to the extent that mentioning it gives it more importance than it deserves. Salt water poured over a baby’s head, and the words used in the ceremony have no more than ritual meaning, so M. LeBouvier’s concern suggests that he remains in the thrall of the Church. How sad. I wish him well.

“The Catholic church uses these numbers to suggest a strong support for their organisation. The numbers are then used as talking points and to exert influence.- Tony, France, 31/1/2012 0:25”———————————————————————- And you think these numbers come from baptismal registers and not secular census numbers? I never cease to be amazed at the number of absurd conspiracy theories concerning the Catholic Church. We aren’t in the 17th Century anymore! Participation or non-participation is competely voluntary!

What a ridiculous story. If a person no longer believes what he was baptised into all he needs do is to stop attending. Un-baptism is politically correct nonsense used by anti-Christian elements for publicity purposes. I am not a Catholic by the way.

There is no logic in asking for a baptism to be annulled.
Unlike marriage, baptism does not create a legal obligation on a person. It is entirely up to a baptised person whether or not he wishes to continue his membership of the church and his existence on the registers is immaterial. The registers are simply a record of something that happened and should remain untouched. There is clearly no provision for an additional register of people who have decided to leave the church and indeed no such provision should be made.

The tough thing is that de-baptism isn’t actually possible. You can strike the name from the books – fine, whatever. Feel good about renouncing the faith, but there is not de-baptism. Baptism is a mark made with water and the Name “Father, Son and Spirit.” It doesn’t come off. You can reject it’s meaning. You can defame it. You can curse it. Kudos to you. You’re still baptized.

Wow, someone has got a lot of time on their hands.
It happened. Unless you have a time machine you can’t make it unhappen. Instead of trying to alter the universe how about changing the one thing he should be able to control, his mind?

The Church does not want the French people to know the extent to which people baptised as Catholics reject its teachings. If the process was made easy (as it should be) there would be a flood of people interested in disassociating themselves from a institution riddled with paedophiles. I wish Monsieur LeBouvier the best and hope that it will result in more “Catholics” following in his footsteps.
– des, scotland, 30/1/2012 21:20……………I think des has an important point. As my original post shows, I wondered wny he didn’t just walk away, but I think his actions have more to do with more to do causing discomfort to the Roman system than actually proving any thing to himself.

The only way he can be unbaptised is if he used a time machine. He was baptised. It’s an historical fact. You can’t change history because you don’t like it.
Regardless of what he’d like, when he was a baby, a priest sprinkled water on his head. There’s no way to change that.

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