Salt Lake City (AP) The Vatican has ordered Catholic Dioceses worldwide to withhold member registries from Mormons who perform posthumous baptisms.

The order was issued by a clergy mainstay, the Vatican Congregation for Clergy.

Officials said the step was taken to prevent members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from baptizing by proxy their catholic ancestors.

The order was first reported by Catholic News Service.

The Catholic Diocese in Utah says it already has a policy to restrict baptismal records only to those entitled to see them.

One Mormon genealogist, Rusell Banerter, told the Deseret News of Salt Lake City that the order cracks down on the free flow of information.

The Mormon church has an open-door policy at its own Family History Library.