Family devastated after infant dies from baptism complications

An investigation into the death of a six-week-old baby is underway after the child suffered from a heart attack.

On Sunday, a family took their son to be baptized at St. Constantin and Elena Church in Suceava, Romania. At the time, the family noticed the child was not responding well to the traditional ceremony. Monitorul de Suceava, a daily newspaper in the area, says the father noticed his son was crying, but the priest continued to immerse his son.

"The child had blood on his nose. I put him face down to get the water out but he did not recover. He had a heartbeat but he had a very low pulse," the father told the paper.

Romanian news organization Adevarul says the baby's godfather performed first aid, and witnesses called emergency crews. The infant was taken to the hospital, where he later died.

A report from Prosecutor Anca Panciuc, the spokesperson of the Suceava Court's Prosecutor's Office, says the infant had 110 ml of water in his lungs. The priest is now being investigated for manslaughter. Investigators will be using photos from the baptism as evidence. 

The  Archdiocese of Suceava says “there is no word or deed to wipe away the tears and now soothe the broken hearts of parents and relatives, but we are with them at this particularly difficult time" in a release, according to Basilica.Ro.

There is currently a petition with over 60,000 signatures calling for the Romanian Orthadox Church to move from immersing to sprinkling during baptisms.

"Given the tragic situations in which infants died after immersion in the water in the baptismal font, the CHURCH must urgently regulate this practice!" the groups writes. "We do NOT demand the annulment of the practice of Baptism but its modification, so that these are prevented from unnecessary and even absurd risks!"

They say the risk of immersion brings risk of a "boundless tragedy that brings pain instead of joy."