I am catholic but my husband is not but a would really like for my child to be baptized catholic.
No you just have to be committed to raising your child in the faith .
Technically, neither of you has to be Catholic!
in practical fact, the Church doesnt want to have a child baptized Catholic unless the family can raise the child in the faith.
as long as the parents promise to raise the child in the faith, to make sure they know enough to BE what they have been baptized…its no problem.
in fact, in mixed marriages, it (used to be?) that the non Catholic spouse had to promise to raise any children Catholic… i know that when my Father in Law (non Catholic) married my MIL (Catholic), all the Children were baptized Catholic
[edited]
That is no longer the case. When we got married in 1975, DH had to promise that the children would be raised Catholic. Today the Church recognizes that the non-Catholic parties have the right to raise their children in their own faiths. The Church, therefore, requires that the Catholics promise to do all in their power to have their children baptized and raised Catholic and informs the non-Catholic parties of the promise but does not require any promise from them in return.
[edited]Yes all that is necessary is that the parents be able to assure the priest that they will do all in their power to raise the children Catholic and educate them in the Faith. Your husband and the godparents–who also must be Catholic–will probably be required, and you will be invited, to attend some type of preparation class on the sacrament itself and what it means for Catholics, and on your obligations. Please contact your husband’s parish to find out what the procedure is in your area.
These classes, and those offered when your children prepare for the other sacraments, can be very instructive and helpful for you as the non-Catholic parent in understanding what they learn and do, and appreciating the similarities and differences to your own faith. You already have a difficult task coping with one potential source of conflict in the family, so anything that aids communication and understanding is to the good. You may find in time, and I see this a lot, that you may be even more faithful than your Catholic spouse in taking care of your child’s religious education so I would like to take this chance to thank you and all non-Catholic parents of Catholic children who do take this responsibility seriously, you are a blessing and a credit to your own upbringing.
Something that might be of interest to readers of this thread is a blog post written by Fr. Tim Finigan of “The hermeneutic of continuity.” The subject is “Baptizing infants readily”
the-hermeneutic-of-continuity.blogspot.com/2009/12/baptising-infants-readily.html
An excerpt:
I agree with the pastoral approach that seeks to encourage such families by baptising their children readily, and then trying to encourage people to get married, or to have their civil marriage convalidated, to return to Mass and confession, and to become a part of the general life of the parish.
A Catholic parent is required to have their child Baptized Catholic, even if the other parent is not Catholic.