Recently some well-intentioned women Catholics asked me for my
opinion on baptism by total immersion practised in some of our
modern churches during the Easter Vigil Mass.
I was lost for an answer as I had only witnessed one mass baptism
by total immersion carried out in a church in the City District
which sadly degenerated to a kind of child play in the makeshift
inflatable tub of water towards the end of the ritual.
These women told me they were not supportive of this method of
baptism. They claimed that when it was held in one church, the men
were gawking at some women candidates who emerged from the pool
wet, revealing their well- endowed feminine features. It was
somewhat scandalising for them to see such a thing happening in
church.
In future, perhaps these baptismal women candidates could be
appropriately clothed in a thick black gown before they enter the
pool so that they do not appear immodest when they emerge from the
water.
They voiced another concern on women about to complete their
period. In such a case, would they be allowed to partake in the
immersion or would pouring water over the head be administered
specially for them during the mass baptism ceremony?
These are, no doubt, relevant issues which deserve attention as
well as a reply from the relevant church authorities.
Nelson Quah
