European bishops oppose deletion of baptismal register entries

European bishops, through the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), have issued a 15-page position paper opposing the deletion of entries from baptismal registers. The issue stems from a legal dispute involving the Diocese of Ghent in Belgium, which is currently being heard by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg after a Belgian authority demanded the removal of a specific entry.

COMECE argues that the matter extends beyond simple data privacy and administrative record-keeping. The bishops contend that the case touches upon the fundamental right to religious freedom and the ability of the Church to express its faith legally and sacramentally. They maintain that baptism is not merely a historical event but a permanent spiritual covenant, and that forcing the deletion of these records could interfere with how the Church preserves and expresses central elements of its sacramental belief.