Question:
I don’t understand why the faithful are allowed to baptize one another. What makes this sacrament different from the others that an ordained priest does not have to administer it?
Answer:
The ordinary ministers of baptism (in other words, the people ordinarily expected to perform baptism) are priests and deacons. Because baptism is ordinarily necessary for salvation (John 3:5; CCC 1257), in life-and-death situations in which a priest or deacon is not available, anyone—including Catholics, non-Catholics, non-Christians, and non-theists—may baptize so long as they do so in the correct manner and with the correct intention (to baptize).
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