Nuns in some Italian hospitals conducted by Catholic organizations have been baptizing newly born babies “without explicit authorization by the parents,” according to a complaint printed today in La Luce, the official publication of the Italian Waldensian Church.
The Waldensians are said to compose the world’s oldest Protestant community. While the complaint did not mention Jewish parents and babies specifically, it was understood to relate to practices affecting not only Protestants but Jews as well.
According to La Luce, the practice of baptizing newly born infants without the authorization of parents has been especially noted at the Maria Vittoria Hospital in Turin. The periodical reports that the Federal Council of Italian Evangelical Churches “has taken steps before the competent Italian authorities, denouncing these initiatives by members of the Catholic clergy, and requesting that this practice be stopped as a violation of religious freedom.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
