Catholics in Ireland have rejected claims from the ex-president that church baptisms go against the rights of children.
Lawyer and former Irish president Mary McAleese recently made remarks in an Irish Post article that baptisms are a way for the church to establish control over children and go against human rights.
In response, Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan of Waterford and Lismore spoke to EWTN News, saying that baptism is a tradition that dates back to the first century and is a common practice in Christian denominations across the country.
He said: “Jesus gives us a command to go and baptise. So, the Church baptises in obedience to an express command that the Bible supports. So, to baptise infants into the body of Christ is something very good.”
He went on to discuss how it is an action taken by Catholic parents with the best intentions for their children.
“One of the first things that the Catholic parent does to their child is to take his little hand or her little hand and make the sign of the cross. What a beautiful thing," he said.
“Why do parents do it? Because they want their child to have a relationship with a living God throughout their life and lead them into eternal life.”
In the article, McAleese said that baptismal promises and renewals at confirmation get in the way of children having the right to later life decisions of religious identity, and claimed it is "fictitious".
Mahon McCann, a doctoral student in ethics, was baptised into the Catholic faith on Easter Saturday 2025. He was born into an atheist family in which his parents were baptised into Catholicism. McCann told EWTN News that it should be up to parents to decide whether to baptise their children and to continue the long-established tradition.
“Infant baptism is primarily a decision of the parents, who are gifting their offspring membership into the life of the Church and the traditional Catholic way of life that leads to their salvation,” he explained.
“The idea that babies and children should ‘consent’ to be part of a particular tradition is as ridiculous as saying that they should choose what language they are going to speak.”
