The register of baptisms and data protection
What are the practical implications for the Catholic Church of deleting individual entries from the baptismal register?
Research occasion
The question of whether state laws and court rulings take precedence over the Church’s right to self-determination is currently being addressed in legal proceedings in Belgium. The case is determining whether an individual may request the deletion of their personal data from the baptismal register on the basis of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). A request for a preliminary ruling on this matter has been pending before the European Court of Justice since 9 January 2025. The outcome of the preliminary ruling proceedings and of the court proceedings in Belgium will also have implications for Austria, as the EU-wide GDPR applies here too.
Research objective
This specific court case provides an opportunity to examine the Catholic Church’s right to self-determination. Of particular relevance here are the 1933 Concordat, freedom of religion, and the internal affairs of the Catholic Church, which it is free to regulate itself.
Should the deletion of data from the baptismal register be ordered by the state, this raises questions relating to theology, administrative law and canon law. These concern the relationship between the state and the Catholic Church, baptism in its theological and constitutional dimensions, the procedures for leaving and rejoining the Church, and the possible concrete implications of the judgement in the Belgian court case.
This dissertation aims to answer these questions and develop proposed solutions for dealing with the deletion of entries from the baptismal register.
Research Questions
- Can a state court order the Catholic Church to delete entries from the baptismal register?
- What are the consequences for the Catholic Church if there is no proof of baptism?
- How is leaving the Church assessed under canon law? How can people without proof of baptism rejoin the Church?
- What implications does the judgment of the court proceedings in Belgium have for administrative procedures within the Catholic Church?
Research methods
The dissertation will draw on primary literature (GDPR, CIC), secondary literature, the findings of the preliminary ruling proceedings, research visits to Belgium for the purpose of conducting interviews and monitoring the Belgian court proceedings.
Literature
Güthoff, Elmar, Der Kirchenaustritt im staatlichen und kirchlichen Recht, Freiburg/Wien 2011.
Hoeren, Thomas, Kritische Zusammenfassung des Urteils des Obersten Verwaltungsgerichts vom 14. Juli 2022 (Az. III OSK 2776/21) unter besonderer Berücksichtigung von Canon 220, in: Zeitschrift für Kanonisches Recht 3, 2024.
Krämer, Peter, Religionsfreiheit in der Kirche: das Recht auf religiöse Freiheit in der kirchlichen Rechtsordnung, Trier, 1981.
Lange, Christian, Die Taufe. Einführung in Geschichte und Praxis, Darmstadt 2008.
Sydow, Gernot, Kirchliches Datenschutzrecht: Datenschutzbestimmungen der katholischen Kirche. Handkommentar, Baden-Baden 2021.
Supervisor
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Sabine Konrad
Leiterin Fachbereich Kirchenrecht - Institut für Praktische Theologie
Doctoral candidate
MMag. Johanna Sofie Berger
johanna.berger@uibk.ac.at
