Bishop and psychologist think about the importance of putting Christian names

In all of Latin America, the practice of putting the children of others to feel Christian has been extended. It is common to meet strange and extravagant names but what does the Church teach about this and how do the names of people affect? A bishop and a psychologist respond.

In Peru, the National Identification and Civil Status (Reniec) regularly share lists with the most peculiar names in the country. More than 30 Peruvians are called Bellatrix, in honor of the famous character of the Harry Potter books and movies. More than 50 are called John Lennon, as the late member of The Beatles, and 7 people share the name of Avatar.

In Venezuela, the names become unpronunciablebeing some of the most famous in popular culture that of Efrofriendlyns Jhesvergreen and Ronnallys Silvidiskeilymar. Also in Cuba there are names like Disney Landia, Leidy Diana and Margarita virus, according to collects Cuba debate.

What the Catholic Church teaches on the names

He Catechism of the Catholic Church He points out that in baptism “the Christian receives his name in the Church” (n. 2156) and that “the name of every man is sacred. The name is the image of the person. It demands respect in the dignity of the one who carries it” (n. 2158).

In that sense, the Catechism advises parents, godparents and parish priests who seek not to impose other people’s names, but assign some that offers the baptized “a model of charity”, as the name of a saint, or other appellation that reflects some mystery or virtue of faith.

The catechism indicates that “the name received is a name of eternity” (n. 2159). And he adds: “In the kingdom of God, the mysterious and unique character of each person marked with the name of God will shine in full light.”

“It’s not a heresy” but you have to be prudence

Mons. José Ignacio Munilla, Bishop of Orihuela-Aliante (Spain), said in an interview with ACI Prensa that “a very great poverty of our time is the lack of references” suffered by children and young people during their growth.

“It is very fashionable now to impose names that have nothing to do with the Christian Santoral or the Christian virtues,” he said.

The Spanish bishop explained that the custom of receiving a Christian name in baptism unites us and relates to the whole Church, which is the mystical body of Christ, through the communion of the saints.

“Having a employer, under whose name I have been baptized and in which I have my eyes, is a very strong reference. Many times when you go to put names that we saw in some novel or an actress, we are manifesting a fragility where I have my references,” said Mons. Munilla.

“We start from that evil: that we do not admire the saints. And since we do not admire them, because we admire other people and put other names of actresses or singers or simply put it because the word falls sympathetic. That choice already indicates a problem in our heart,” he added.

According to the prelate, the faithful Christians will one day know “to what extent our patrons saints are interceding for us and are protecting us.” Mons. Munilla explains that although “it is not a heresy” to use a name outside of Christianity, they must be chosen from prudence.

“That does not mean that this person will not be protected by God, because the essential thing is that he is baptized in The name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; But something important is being dispensed with that is to have a concrete saint as a patron, a reference as a model, “said the bishop.

In addition, he said that the problem lies in the secularization of society, of which children are participants in not putting names of those who may feel proud.

“God gives a special mission to the saints, which is to intercede those who have the same name; but we are also invited to know the life of the saint of our name. It would be to be desired that Christians had a special relationship with them,” said the bishop of Orihuela-Aliante.

The problem of names “indicates, without any doubt, that we are not friends of the saints. This indicates a crisis,” he said.

“A tendency towards individualism”

Sofía Delgado, a Venezuelan psychologist, told ACI Press that the name is a fundamental part of the identity of each human being, because it is the first thing he knows of himself and the first thing he presents before society.

“From the name we can assume many things of people,” said Delgado. “The names have a history and an origin, they have gone from generation to generation and it is easier to relate to this type of names, which have a clear meaning,” he added.

Delgado explained that it is difficult to say what negative effects a strange name on children and adolescents can have, but said that one of them is undoubtedly the bullying They can suffer throughout their youth, “because they can highlight negatively.”

“The child can suffer introversions because he receives teasing because of his name, he can suffer for this and have different negative behaviors. He may not want to go to school, be frustrated and all these typical things of harassment situations,” said the psychologist.

Delgado also points out that the secularization of society is one of the causes that Christian names are less and less used. “To the extent that society separates from the Christian religion, the sense of choosing a name that has meaning within Christianity is lost,” he said.

At the same time, he said that another great factor that influences this situation “is a tendency towards individualism, wanting to highlight about others and not wanting to relate to history and tradition, on which a general rejection weighs.”

The psychologist finally expressed that names are a kind of “psychological anchor” with which it is necessary to have a good relationship to self -perceive more positively. Although it is not necessarily determining, a Christian name helps “to have more confidence in itself and to relate better to others.”