If baptism is a sign of inclusion within the body of Christ, we could say, as Peter K. Fay does, that a diagnosis with a serious mental illness often signals a form of “de-baptism.” The seriously mentally ill are frequently excluded from civil society, including sometimes from Church and family life. They are among the most vulnerable—and feared—people in our midst.
These three essays began as presentations at the most recent annual meeting of the Catholic Theological Society of America, which convened in Portland, Oregon, in June 2025. The general theme of the meeting was “One Baptism: Evolving Visions of Catholicity from Nicaea to Vatican II and Beyond.” This particular session focused on specific struggles faced by mentally ill persons threatened with marginalization or exclusion. Participants focused on the frequently disastrous interactions between the criminal-justice system and the seriously mentally ill. The approach was multidisciplinary, including theological anthropology, sociology, and the emerging best practices of law enforcement in Portland.
Fay, a specialist in Catholic social thought, scrutinizes the barriers confronting the seriously mentally ill in both the Church and the world, drawing upon a theology of baptism to consider both “the ethical floor that people with mental illness need” and “the grace-filled heights to which they can ascend.”
Tobias Winright, a theological ethicist with prior experience as a police officer, criticizes the increasing militarization of American police forces. He bemoans a situation where officers spend far more time learning how to use weapons than “how to deal with persons suffering from mental illness.”
Meg Kaveny works with the Portland Police Bureau’s Behavioral Health Response Team (BHRT), which pairs police officers with master’s-level clinicians such as herself. Referred by patrol officers who suspect underlying mental health issues, the BHRT channels those suffering from mental illness away from the carceral system and toward (still woefully lacking) social services. She proposes a more holistic approach to mental illness, arguing that it is a mistake to “treat personal autonomy as an idol, without considering the broader context of human well-being.”
These three writers challenge us to think more deeply about how the Church and civil society can recognize and honor the humanity of those dealing with mental illness.
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