The Catholic Church in Belgium has announced it will fight an order to erase entries from its baptismal register amid reports of an increase in requests for “debaptism”.
A spokesperson said the church had appealed a Dec. 19 decision by Belgium’s data protection authority that asked the diocese of Ghent to comply with an anonymous person’s request to delete baptismal records.
If a Catholic in Belgium wishes to be “debaptized,” this will be noted in the margin of the baptismal register of the parish where the person was baptized, but the baptismal entry will not be deleted.
The Catholic Church teaches that “baptism stamps on a Christian an indelible spiritual seal of his belonging to Christ.” A person can neglect the practice of faith or even completely abandon it, but it is impossible to reverse the effects of baptism.
The Belgian data protection authority gave the church 30 days to appeal the ruling, which could set a precedent not only in Belgium but also in the other 26 member states of the European Union. .
Belgium’s Catholic Church said the decision raises “many legal questions” and “should be considered at European level.”
It added that it will continue to use the current procedure for adding notes to baptism records, as disputes will be brought to the Market Court, a division of the Court of Appeal in Brussels, which has exclusive jurisdiction over Data Protection Authority-related law.
The Belgian church cited a February 2023 ruling by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, which also belongs to the EU.
“People who no longer consider themselves members of the Catholic Church do not have the right to request the erasure of their personal data in their baptism registers,” the Irish commission said.
Irish authorities reviewed a request to erase the Archdiocese of Dublin’s baptismal records under Article 17 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which has been applicable across the EU since 2018.
The Commission said: “In circumstances where the data subject no longer wishes to be a member of the Catholic Church, a supplementary statement by the archbishop in the entry in the baptismal register stating that he no longer wishes to be identified as a Roman Catholic. can be added.” “”
The Belgian case came to light after an individual asked the Diocese of Ghent to remove his data from all files, including baptism registers. When church authorities explained that notes were written next to baptism records but not erased, the person filed a complaint with the Data Protection Office.
According to the data management agency, churches must preserve baptismal records to prevent possible identity theft, for example if a person who has already been baptized attempts to receive a second communion contrary to the teachings of the church. He claimed that.
The data authority recognized the church’s concerns but maintained that the complainant’s interests took precedence over the church’s interests.
“As a result, the data processing in question is considered unlawful. This means that complainants can exercise their right to request the erasure of their data.”
Geert de Kerpel, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Mechelen and Brussels, which includes the diocese of Ghent, said: “We were very surprised by this decision as the Irish Data Protection Authority had previously decided to the contrary just a few months ago” in a previous complaint against the Archdiocese of Dublin. ”
“Therefore, we believe we have a sufficient argument to defend our position in court.”
He added: “Diocesan and parish staff and volunteers treat all applications with care. Therefore, even if it takes some time and research to accomplish everything, we will clearly distance ourselves from the church.” We recognize the demands of people who want to put in place.”
The Belgian church adopted a policy of adding notes to baptismal registers in the 1990s, when it first started receiving requests for “debaptisms.”
In 2021, the Belgian church reported a sharp increase in the number of people requesting records for being “debaptized.”
There were 5,237 such requests in 2021, compared to 1,261 in 2020 and 1,800 in 2019, according to the church’s annual report.
The report suggests that the Vatican’s Doctrinal Secretariat’s March 2021 statement that the Catholic Church does not have the authority to bless same-sex marriages could “partly explain” the surge in applications. .
The number of requests for “debaptism” decreased significantly to 1,270 in 2022. But officials fear that number could rise again in 2023 after the screening of the documentary series “Godforsaken,” which sparked national outrage when it aired in Belgium last September. .
The series, which highlighted clergy abuse and cover-ups, sparked a parliamentary investigation and reportedly sparked a surge in Catholics leaving the church.
In a Sept. 18 op-ed in Belgium’s De Standaard newspaper, author and political official Jan de Sutter argues that since the GDPR has reined in internet giant Google, it will do the same for the church. argued that it should.
“The Church fears the GDPR like the devil fears holy water when faced with the GDPR. The Church uses all kinds of theological and ecclesiastical arguments on this to argue for religious freedom. ‘, he claimed.
On September 20, De Sutter’s colleague, Kathleen van Brempt, a member of the European Parliament, submitted a parliamentary question to the European Commission, which said: What measures are you planning to take to ensure this?” European citizens. ”
Other EU countries have seen unsuccessful challenges to the church’s practice of refusing to delete baptismal records.
In 2014, France’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, rejected a man’s request to have baptismal records removed in a diocese in northern France.
In 2021, the Slovenian Administrative Court recognized that there is no right to delete personal data from baptism registers under Article 17 of the GDPR.
In contrast to Belgium, the system in neighboring Germany allows baptized Catholics to renounce their church membership, which is linked to their obligation to pay church taxes.
If a baptized Catholic wants to leave the church in Germany, he or she must make an appointment at the local civil registration office or court, submit official documents, and pay a fee of approximately $35. In return, they receive a certificate confirming that they are no longer registered and therefore no longer liable to pay church tax.
The move resulted in a letter from local church officials explaining the implications of the move, which included prohibitions on receiving the sacraments, holding church offices, or acting as sponsors of baptisms or confirmations. ing.
A record 522,821 people officially left the Catholic Church in Germany in 2022. This is more than 400 times the number of people in Belgium, with a population of about 12 million, who requested “debaptism” that year, and Germany, with a population of 83 million.