Martyrdom
Similarly, those who die as martyrs in a persecution of Christians are also judged by Roman Catholicism to have acquired the benefits of baptism without actually undergoing the ritual; this is the "baptism of blood" (baptismum sanguinis) (ss. 1258). Because the Catholic Church practices infant baptism, these issues seldom arise except for adult converts to Catholicism who were not baptized as children. The Catholic Church officially professes uncertainty about the fate in the afterlife of infants who die before baptism, observing that "the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God" (ss. 1261).
Read more about this topic: Baptism Of Desire
Famous quotes containing the word martyrdom:
“Every man has a right to utter what he thinks truth, and every other man has a right to knock him down for it. Martyrdom is the test.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)
“The myth of motherhood as martyrdom has been bred into women, and behavioral scientists have helped embellish the myth with their ideas of correct “feminine” behavior. If women understand that they do not have to ignore their own needs and desires when they become mothers, that to be self-interested is not to be selfish, it will help them to avoid the trap of overattachment.”
—Grace Baruch (20th century)