Prison Refuses Noriega’s Bid for Baptism

Deposed Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega will have to wait to be baptized under the rites of the Southern Baptist Convention, a prison official said.

The warden at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, where Noriega has been in custody for more than a year, said no baptism will take place until Noriega’s drug-smuggling trial ends in Miami federal court.

Noriega had wanted to be baptized by full-body immersion, most likely the small pond within the walls of the prison’s compound. But a short-term, pretrial jail is an improper setting for such a ritual, said MCC spokeswoman Dena Davion.

“Baptism is a long-term personal commitment and would not be appropriate in a temporary facility,” Davion said. “It’s a very serious choice, like going into the priesthood.”

Noriega is said to have dabbled in the Afro-Caribbean Santeria cult, Catholicism and Eastern religions, but became a Baptist last year after a visit by Texas evangelist Clift Brannon.

If convicted, Noriega, like any inmate, may be baptized in whatever prison he’s assigned.