How is baptism of desire compatible with Canon 5 of Session 7 of the Council of Trent?
Robert Sungenis answers that Trent's canons condemn the idea that anyone reaches heaven without baptism, not baptism of desire, which Trent itself teaches in Session 6, chapter 4, so the two cannot conflict. He notes that some limit baptism of desire to catechumens, a qualification Trent does not add, and holds that its exact extent must be left to the Church.
A viewer asks how baptism of desire can be reconciled with Canon 5 from Session 7 of the Council of Trent.
Answer
Session 7 deals with the sacraments in general; its Canon 5 anathematizes anyone who says the sacraments were instituted only to nourish faith. If instead you mean the canon that baptism is necessary and not optional for salvation, the answer is that the Council is not denying baptism's necessity; it is condemning the idea that you can reach heaven without it. Baptism of desire is itself a doctrine taught by Trent, in chapter 4 of Session 6, so it cannot contradict the canons. How it is applied is where people disagree; some limit it to catechumens who desired baptism and died before receiving it, but Trent does not add that qualification, it simply says baptism of desire. Those arguments will not be settled, but you must hold that baptism of desire is real and a genuine doctrine, and leave its exact extent and application to the Church, which is the only authority competent to apply it.