Milan, 20 May (AKI) - The northern Italian city of Milan is experiencing a boom in the number of people who want to renounce their baptism and leave the Catholic church. A report in the Italian daily 'Il Giornale' said the diocese had received over 200 requests in the first five months of 2009, equalling the total number received in 2008.

"As a pastor, I worry and suffer every time I have to sign, as I did this morning, when I signed five or six of these requests," said Luigi Manganini, the priest who presides over the discipline of the sacraments of the Milan diocese quoted by Italian daily 'Il Giornale'.

Manganini said this upwards trend of so-called 'debaptisms' is "worrying" because the majority of the cases are of people between the age of 40 and 50. In his view, baptism is irreversible.

"It is out of the question to speak of 'debaptism', since baptism is an irreversible sacrament for he who believes, and cannot be erased in any way. In the case of an explicit request of someone wanting a certificate to abandon the Catholic faith, the church limits itself to writing this in the registries where the act of baptism was recorded."

The procedure can be time consuming, as a request form has to be filled out and handed to a local priest, who will then send the request to the administration office of the discipline of the sacraments.

Then, according to Manganini, the priest is encouraged to speak with the person requesting the cancellation, and if he or she insists, the office will attempt to contact the person and encourage them to reverse their decision.

But Manganini said people almost never show up to this meeting.

The act of 'debaptism' amounts to apostasy and the applicant is thus automatically excommunicated and prohibited from taking sacraments or having a funeral in a church.