Expert: Griff Ruby - 11/19/2009

Question
Dear Griff,
Does a person have to make restitution for sin before baptism, as I was reading a Catholic Encylopedia and it said that ALL sin both actual and volutary is was away in baptism.  Does this mean that if I have committed a mortal sin as long as I don't do it again that Baptism gives a clean slate, and that the call for restituion in the Scriptures is for after baptism?  Do you have any offical statments that a person who is baptised doesn't need to make restitution for past sin, or have I completely missed the point?
Do Catholics view Protestant Baptism as having the same effect to cancel out all past sins?
Thank you,
Glenn Berg


Answer
In all justice, a person should make restitution for sins before they are baptized, for that is an obligation in justice.  In point of fact however, baptism remits only the spiritual cost of one's sins; a thief who gets baptized before having an opportunity to restore what was stolen is still supposed to return that which is stolen.  A murderer who gets baptized can and should still be tried by the secular arm of the law, and duly punished, though once he dies the punishment for the murder is complete.  It is a disciplinary requirement that the Church sets forth that one with serious crimes face the secular judgement for their crimes, though baptism removes all spiritual punishment.  This is to do honor to justice, for otherwise a person could steal and kill and then get baptized merely to avoid all punishment for what they have done (and I am not certain that a baptism obtained under such circumstances would even be valid since the object seems to be to get away with a crime rather than to enter the Kingdom of God), so to prevent this and to prevent being accused of this the Church requires these things to be faced before baptism.
But in point of fact, the person who gets validly baptized and then dies before any chance to commit any sin will pass directly to Heaven, regardless of any past sins.  Unlike the Sacrament of penance, wherein the penitent is typically obliged to perform some penance, and in the cases of such serious crimes, to make restitution or turn himself in to the police, in order to be forgiven the sins absolved (not that these things add to the price or value of Christ's death by which all sin is paid for, but rather that the person does the penance and anything further required to show genuine repentance and good faith, that he is truly sorry for the sin and not merely mouthing off an insincere "I'm sorry"), with baptism only earthly punishments for sin as required by federal or state law are permitted to continue to be in force.
As for when Protestants baptize, provided they do it all "correctly" by Catholic standards (which many do, but many others do not), it has the same effect.
Hope this helps, God bless!