From a reader:
I write inquiring about the validity of my baptism at the SSPX.
I approached the Roman Catholic Parish in our area and inquired about this matter. The parish priest told me that i will be given a conditional baptism.
Is conditional baptism right Father?
No, in my opinion, it is not.
I cannot imagine that the SSPX priest would not have followed closely the pre-Conciliar Rituale Romanum. Since the SSPX is suspended, a formal, liturgical baptism would have been illicit, but it certainly would have been valid.
(The issue of the Sacraments of Penance and of Matrimony are separate issues and outside the scope of this discussion.)
Unless there is local knowledge that that particular SSPX priest does odd things to the form of baptism, or perhaps uses a Gin and Tonic (without ice) to baptize instead of water, I cannot see why validity should be in question.
A possible explanation for this curious notion might be ignorance borne of dislike for anything tradition. That is speculation on my part, but I have seen this attitude before: A priest or bishop doesn’t like or doesn’t understand traditional liturgy and therefore he calls validity of pre-Conciliar rites into question.
I think it would be worth your while asking the opinion of your local bishop about this issue of conditional baptism.
