Baptism is nothing else than the Word of God in the water,
commanded by His institution, or, as Paul says, a washing in
the Word; as also Augustine says: Let the Word come to the
element, and it becomes a Sacrament. And for this reason we do
not hold with Thomas and the monastic preachers [or
Dominicans] who forget the Word (God's institution) and say
that God has imparted to the water a spiritual power, which
through the water washes away sin. Nor [do we agree] with
Scotus and the Barefooted monks [Minorites or Franciscan
monks], who teach that, by the assistance of the divine will,
Baptism washes away sins, and that this ablution occurs only
through the will of God, and by no means through the Word or
water. Of the baptism of children we hold that children ought
to be baptized. For they belong to the promised redemption
made through Christ, and the Church should administer it
[Baptism and the announcement of that promise] to them.