I wonder whether Paul Ryan knows this?

September 10, 2012 8:48 PM

Could Mitt Romney become the first unbaptized, unmarried, non-Christian POTUS? On June 5, 2001, Pope John Paul II granted an audience to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which oversees Catholic Church doctrine. A decision was reached:

Question: Whether the baptism conferred by the community "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints", called "Mormons", in the vernacular, is valid. Response: Negative.

As a result, unlike non-Catholic Christian denominations, even "the essential properties of marriage, unity and indissolubility, do not achieve that "special stability by reason of the sacrament" that is proper to Christian marriage." The President of the Southern Baptist Convention -- the nation's largest Christian religion -- has essentially said the same thing... and worse. But does this matter to religious voters, or is their fervent faith in the Republican Party shakeable?
posted by markkraft (8 comments total)

Could Mitt Romney become the first unbaptized, unmarried, non-Christian POTUS?

No, because Romney isn't going to win. The question is moot.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 8:51 PM on September 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

Sounds like he's giving Christians an out.
posted by dobie at 8:52 PM on September 10, 2012

Could Mitt Romney become the first unbaptized, unmarried, non-Christian POTUS?

By the same rigorous logic we have a Muslim for President so anything is possible.
posted by munchingzombie at 8:53 PM on September 10, 2012 [4 favorites]

markkraft: "Question: Whether the baptism conferred by the community "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints", called "Mormons", in the vernacular, is valid. Response: Negative."

I'm curious, what other baptisms do they and don't they recognize? Because if they only recognize the Catholic Church's baptism, then this is basically non-news.

Although I agree, the question is moot, because he's going to lose, hard, it looks like.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 8:53 PM on September 10, 2012

(I should clarify that under US law, Mitt Romney and his wife would still be married. In fact, their marriage would be considered to be just as legally and binding as same sex marriages in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, and Washington, D.C.)
posted by markkraft at 8:54 PM on September 10, 2012

I should clarify that under US law, Mitt Romney and his wife would still be married.

Well, if you want to nitpick. But where is his long-form marriage certificate?
posted by swift at 8:55 PM on September 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

"what other baptisms do they and don't they recognize?"

From what I have read, they seem to recognize all the other mainstream Christian denominations... President Obama's included.
posted by markkraft at 8:56 PM on September 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

Could Mitt Romney become the first unbaptized, unmarried, non-Christian POTUS according to the Catholic Church?

Since I don't particularly care what the Catholic Church says about a lot of rather more important things, I really don't care about what the Pope says about Mitt Romney's religion.
posted by zachlipton at 8:57 PM on September 10, 2012