The average Catholic today understands very little about the Faith. I'd be discretionary about which CATHOLICS I asked to be a Godparent. Here's how I rank the field of potential Godparents in the world:
Here is how I think some people rank the field of potential Godparents in the world:
How about asking a Catholic to help pass on the Catholic Faith to your child if, God forbid, something should happen to you and your spouse?
Let's say you don't like the line of reasoning that "it is simply common sense that a person would select a Catholic to be a godparent." Well, here's Church law to help clarify it for you beyond the realm of common sense. Thanks to "Catholic Doors" for the research. Here's the Canon Law requirements for a Godparent:
Q. 1. To qualify as Godparent, does the person have to meet certain requirements?
A. 1. Yes! Not everyone qualifies to be a Godparent. The Catholic Church provides a detailed guideline that must be obeyed. "To be admitted to undertake the office of Sponsor, a person must:" [Canon Law # 874.1] a. "be appointed by the candidate for baptism, or by the parents or whoever stands in their place, or failing these, by the parish priest or the minister; to be appointed the person must be suitable for this role and have the intention of fulfilling it;" [Canon Law # 874.1.1]
b. "be not less than 16 years of age, unless a different age has been stipulated by the diocesan Bishop, or unless the parish priest or the minister considers that there is a just reason for an exception to be made;" [Canon Law # 874.1.2]
c. "be a catholic who has been confirmed and has received the blessed Eucharist, and who lives a life of faith which befits the role to be undertaken;" [Canon Law # 874.1.3]
d. "not labour under a canonical penalty, whether imposed or declared;" [Canon Law # 874.1.4]
e. "not be either the father or the mother of the person to be baptised." [Canon Law # 874.1.5]
f. "A baptised person who belongs to a non-catholic ecclesial community may be admitted only in company with a catholic Sponsor, and then simply as a witness to the baptism." [Canon Law # 874.2]
Read the things that DISQUALIFY a person from being a godparent by clicking HERE
When we were taking a baptism class before the birth of our first child, another mother attending the class wanted her Sikh brother-in-law to be her children's Godfather or Christian Witness. She tried to argue with the instructor that Sikhism was a Christian religion. She also wanted her non-practicing Catholic sister to be their Godmother. It was sad.
ReplyDeletePlease tell me that no one actually asked you if their Satanist cousin could be a godparent. That person would be disqualified on at least 2 counts and potentially many more.
ReplyDeleteOne need not be Catholic to be a godparent, one need only be Christian. Ask any priest, except this one, cuz he's kinda....how shall I say...out there.
ReplyDeleteDid you not read the Canon Law above? Did you read anything in the post? The Church has a requirement for the person who is the sponsor. You can call anyone else a god parent that you want, but there are requirements for the main sponsor, and one of those is that the person be a confirmed practicing Catholic.
DeleteI know...following Canon Law is...out there