Cardinal O'Malley's Sprinkling More Than A Simple Blessing Centred On Baptism

Really, we have enough confusion and ambiguity in the Catholic Church these days; we don't need more.

Keep in mind, Cardinal O'Malley is Pope Francis' point man in the USA.

Now dubbed as the ‘prince’ of the U.S. Roman Catholic Church, O’Malley is one of eight cardinals and the only North American representative on the pope’s committee to reform the Apostolic Constitution on the Roman Curia. 

 As with all the recent controversies raised by statements and interviews involving Pope Francis, a host of parties immediately arose to defend the Cardinal's peculiar actions. 

For those wrestling with such unsettling behaviours, my recommendation is to take the advice of Canon lawyer Dr. Edward Peters:

Bottom line: Whether Francis wants to baptize this baby or that, whether O’Malley wishes to be blessed by this person or that, is up to them; they are prelates who understand well sacraments and sacramentals, and they can decide what kind of message (if any) they want to send by their choices. Their defenders, however, should know about sacraments and sacramentals, too, and should not confuse other Catholics by offering misleading defenses of such deeds. 

"Confusion" being the operative word, because there's nothing attractive about confusion. It can very easily scandalize or discourage faithful Catholics. Furthermore, you would think the hierarchs would know that the "New Evangelization" is absolutely dependent on clear and cogent witness, not a "kumbaya" type melding together.