Baptism and Godparents

[PoliSciProf]

My daughter has just returned from her parish baptism class. She is married to very nice man who was raised Baptist but who is seriously considering converting to Catholicism. This will be their first child (and my first grandchild!). The deacon who instructed them said it was OK if only one of the godparents were Catholic. My wife and I both thought his response odd, given the spiritual duties of godparents. There are issues of family diplomacy here in addition to the sacramental question. The bottom line: **is the deacon correct? ** A second question: the deacon informed them that if her DH converts, his Baptist baptism was valid and a Catholic baptism would not be necessary. Again, is the deacon correct? This is new territory for me so I look forward to CAF’s responses.

 

[1ke]

Regarding baptismal sponsors (godparents):

There can be two sponsors, one of each sex, but only one is required. Only a Catholic can be a godparent. A non-Catholic can be a Christian witness to the baptism, but NOT a godparent.

You can find the applicable canon law here.

Regarding the spouse’s upcoming conversion:

A person may only be baptized once. A Trinitarian baptism via pouring or immersion is valid. It sounds as if your son-in-law’s baptism meets this criteria. Therefore, he would not require baptism, only completing the rest of the Sacraments of Initiation.

The relevant canon law can be found here.

 

[John_Lilburne]

The Code of Canon Law has, in a section on sponsors for baptism:

“Can. 873 One sponsor, male or female, is sufficient; but there may be two, one of each sex.
Can. 874 §1 To be admitted to undertake the office of sponsor, a person must: …
3º be a catholic who has been confirmed and has received the blessed Eucharist, and who live a life of faith which befits the role to be undertaken; …
§2 A baptised person who belongs to a non-catholic eccleisal community may be admitted only in company with a catholic sponsor, and then simply as a witness to the baptism.”

(The Code of Canon Law: New revised English Translation, HarperCollins Liturgical, 1997, ISBN 000599375X.)

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

The bottom line: **is the deacon correct? **

The answer in both cases is that the deacon is correct. But I have to wonder why you would take the word of total strangers on the Internet over the word of an ordained deacon who is known to your daughter.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

My daughter has just returned from her parish baptism class. She is married to very nice man who was raised Baptist but who is seriously considering converting to Catholicism. This will be their first child (and my first grandchild!). The deacon who instructed them said it was OK if only one of the godparents were Catholic. My wife and I both thought his response odd, given the spiritual duties of godparents. There are issues of family diplomacy here in addition to the sacramental question. The bottom line: **is the deacon correct? **A second question: the deacon informed them that if her DH converts, his Baptist baptism was valid and a Catholic baptism would not be necessary. Again, is the deacon correct? This is new territory for me so I look forward to CAF’s responses.

It’s is simply usually a case of sloppy terms. A person cannot be a Godparent unless they are a qualified, practicing Catholic in good standing with the Church. You may have another Baptized Christian of the opposite gender of the Catholic Godparent who is in good standing with their community as a Christian Witness to the Baptism along with the Catholic Godparent. That is also correct the generally speaking Baptist Baptism is accepted as valid by the Catholic Church. However each case must be looked at individually to be sure.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

The answer in both cases is that the deacon is correct. But I have to wonder why you would take the word of total strangers on the Internet over the word of an ordained deacon who is known to your daughter.

The Deacon could be INCORRECT on the Godparent issue. Depending on how you read his statement. It’s not only that one Godparent needs to be Catholic, if you are going to be a Godparent you need to be Catholic.

 

[puzzleannie]

I would first assume the parents misquoted the deacon, and that what he actually said was, there only need be one godparent, who is a Catholic in good-standing, but the second witness can be a baptized Christian who then serves as a Christian witness. For instance if your dd and her Baptist husband were asked to stand as godparents, she would be the godparent (being Catholic) and he would be the Christian witness. That is also how they would be designated in the official record of the sacrament.