The Pope and the Mormons

Hi Emily,

I'm addressing this to you because you were the most rational in
explaining the controversy.

What I don't understand is why the Pope is all upset about a religion
he does not recognize as legitimate taking a list of dead peoples
names and saying something (he does not recognize as being
legitimate) over them. It will not change what those people believed
when they were alive. Nothing can change what the deceased believe
after they die. They're dead, they can't change their mind. If they
were Catholic when alive, that's what they are now. If they were
Jewish when alive, nothing can change that. They remain what they
believed when alive.

It looks like anyone can go to a cemetery and copy a list of names
from the tombstones and claim to re-baptize them and the Pope will
recognize it's legitimacy by getting upset. Doesn't he have faith
the Catholic religion is strong enough to resist posthumous baptisms
from the Mormons?

I certainly hope the Pope doesn't follow through with this. It will
hurt more than genealogists.

Linda