Isn't it unfair to be guilty of Adam's sin before I was even born?

🔥The question: “Why is something I never did called ‘original sin,’ and why do I have to be baptized for it?”

🛡️The Church's answer: Original sin does not mean that every baby has committed the same personal wrong that Adam and Eve committed. The Church teaches that in their descendants original sin does not have the character of a personal fault; it is not an act we carried out but the human condition of having lost the original holiness and justice. Because the whole human family is bound together, that first break left behind a wounded nature, suffering and death, and an inclination toward sin.

That does not mean human nature has turned wholly evil, or that freedom has vanished. The dignity of the human being made in God's image remains — but it needs healing and help. Baptism is not a rite that punishes an innocent baby; it is a new birth that washes original sin away with the life of Christ and turns us toward God. Weakness and the inclination toward sin remain after baptism too, so we have to grow and struggle within grace.

🧐If they press further: “Then are disability, illness, and poverty punishments a person earned through original sin?” — no. The doctrine of original sin is not a manual for tracing one person's suffering back to that person or to their parents. It says the opposite: everyone inside a wounded world needs salvation and solidarity. In front of someone who is suffering, care and justice come before assigning blame.

✨In one sentence: “Original sin isn't a verdict saying you personally did what Adam did; it means the human family is born wounded, having lost its first holiness — and baptism is the gift of new life in Christ.”