{"id":294400,"date":"2019-01-03T13:26:01","date_gmt":"2019-01-03T18:26:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?p=294400"},"modified":"2019-01-03T13:26:01","modified_gmt":"2019-01-03T18:26:01","slug":"who-can-be-a-godparent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2019\/01\/who-can-be-a-godparent\/","title":{"rendered":"Who can be a godparent?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I got an email from a woman recently, inquiring about having a child baptized at our parish.<\/p>\n

She has chosen a Greek Orthodox friend to be the godmother and wanted to know if that was okay.\u00a0 I assured her it was, provided the other godparent was (at minimum) a baptized Catholic. \u201cOne of the godparents,\u201d I wrote, \u201cneeds to be Catholic; the other can be Christian.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mother wrote back: \u201cUnfortunately, the godfather is neither Catholic nor Christian.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well. This comes up from time to time. Sometimes, parents want to select a Jewish and a Muslim to be godparents. (\u201cWe were thinking it would be nice and inclusive,\u201d a father once told me.) One time, the parents admitted that neither of the people they had selected as godparents had any religion at all and one, in fact, was an atheist. \u201cBut he\u2019s a really good<\/em> person,\u201d the mother explained, as if that were enough.<\/p>\n

Parents, take note: you are having your child baptized Catholic.<\/strong>\u00a0Being a godparent is not a ceremonial function. It is not something you do because someone is a good friend of high moral character or a person you think could do a good job raising the child if you got hit by a bus on the way home from the church.<\/p>\n

The godparent\/sponsor needs to be a model and witness for the Catholic faith.<\/p>\n

Canon law<\/a><\/strong> is clear:<\/p>\n

\n

Can.\u00a0\u00a0874\u00a0\u00a71. To be\u00a0permitted\u00a0to\u00a0take\u00a0on the\u00a0function\u00a0of\u00a0sponsor\u00a0a\u00a0person\u00a0must:<\/p>\n

1\/ be\u00a0designated\u00a0by the one to be\u00a0baptized, by the\u00a0parents\u00a0or the\u00a0person\u00a0who\u00a0takes\u00a0their\u00a0place, or in their\u00a0absence\u00a0by the\u00a0pastor\u00a0or\u00a0minister\u00a0and have the\u00a0aptitude\u00a0and\u00a0intention\u00a0of\u00a0fulfilling\u00a0this\u00a0function;<\/p>\n

2\/ have\u00a0completed\u00a0the\u00a0sixteenth\u00a0year\u00a0of\u00a0age, unless the\u00a0diocesan\u00a0bishop\u00a0has\u00a0established\u00a0another\u00a0age, or the\u00a0pastor\u00a0or\u00a0minister\u00a0has\u00a0granted\u00a0an\u00a0exception\u00a0for a\u00a0just\u00a0cause;<\/p>\n

3\/ be a\u00a0Catholic<\/strong>\u00a0who has been\u00a0confirmed\u00a0and has already\u00a0received\u00a0the most\u00a0holy\u00a0sacrament\u00a0of the\u00a0Eucharist\u00a0and who\u00a0leads\u00a0a\u00a0life\u00a0of\u00a0faith\u00a0in\u00a0keeping\u00a0with the\u00a0function\u00a0to be\u00a0taken\u00a0on;<\/p>\n

4\/ not be\u00a0bound\u00a0by any\u00a0canonical\u00a0penalty\u00a0legitimately\u00a0imposed\u00a0or\u00a0declared;<\/p>\n

5\/ not be the\u00a0father\u00a0or\u00a0mother\u00a0of the one to be\u00a0baptized.\u00a0 A baptized person\u00a0who\u00a0belongs\u00a0to a\u00a0non-Catholic\u00a0ecclesial\u00a0community\u00a0is not to\u00a0participate\u00a0except together with a\u00a0Catholic\u00a0sponsor\u00a0and then only as a\u00a0witness\u00a0of the\u00a0baptism.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Anyway\u2026I\u2019m waiting to hear if the woman who contacted me can find a Catholic to be the godfather.<\/p>\n

This leads me to another interesting challenge that crops up more often than you may think: a lot of people just don\u2019t know Catholics.<\/strong> They may be new to the area. They may not have siblings (or siblings they are close to). They may not know anyone in the circle of friends they feel comfortable asking. (\u201cCan the church provide someone?\u201d is a common question.)\u00a0 I usually suggest that couples revisit their Christmas card list or consider the grandparents.<\/p>\n

Once, not so very long ago, people lived with the church and the parish as the center of their world, and everyone knew a lot of people who were Catholic. You grew up with them, saw them every Sunday, socialized with them, went to school with them, lived around them, married them.<\/p>\n

That just doesn\u2019t happen anymore.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I got an email from a woman recently, inquiring about having a child baptized at our parish. She has chosen a Greek Orthodox friend to be the godmother and wanted to know if that was okay.\u00a0 I assured her it was, provided the other godparent was (at minimum) a baptized Catholic. \u201cOne of the godparents,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":28985,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[129],"class_list":["post-294400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sacraments","tag-baptism"],"yoast_head":"\nWho can be a godparent?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I got an email from a woman recently, inquiring about having a child baptized at our parish. 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