Baptism and non-catholic godparents

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katiasalomon

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Ok, I am lost on what to do here. I am a non-practicing Catholic and I want to baptize my infant dautghter. I have the 2 perfect people to act as her godparents but am concerned the church will not allow it. My choice of godmother is a non-practicing catholic and my choice for godfater is christian doesn’t associate with a specific denomination. I know in my heart that my 2 choices as godparents will be positive influences on my child and I want them as godparents. What to do…
 
To the best of my knowledge, Godparents are to be practicing Catholics who have been confirmed. At my parish, Godparents are required to provide documentation that they are registered members of a parish and in good standing - and confirmed. I would suggest you speak with your priest regarding the situation.
 
The church only requires one Godparent but they must be a practicing Catholic. A second “Christian witness” is allowed in place of a second Godparent.

A Godparent’s role is not an honorary title, they promise God to help in the Catholic religious formation. Your description as perfect Godparents really does not fit the role as the Church intends it to be.

As a non-practicing Catholic what is your reason for desiring baptism for your child? The Church must have a reasonable assurance the child will be brought up in the Catholic faith in order to perform a baptism.
 
rayne89 said:
As a non-practicing Catholic what is your reason for desiring baptism for your child? The Church must have a reasonable assurance the child will be brought up in the Catholic faith in order to perform a baptism.
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I was wondering the same thing…if you are a non practicing Catholic and have chosen 2 people, one also a non practicing Catholic and the other a non-Catholic, why do you want your daughter baptised Catholic?
 
rayne89 said:
The church only requires one Godparent but they must be a practicing Catholic. A second “Christian witness” is allowed in place of a second Godparent.

A Godparent’s role is not an honorary title, they promise God to help in the Catholic religious formation. Your description as perfect Godparents really does not fit the role as the Church intends it to be.

As a non-practicing Catholic what is your reason for desiring baptism for your child? The Church must have a reasonable assurance the child will be brought up in the Catholic faith in order to perform a baptism.
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My desire to baptize my child comes from me. I was baptized as a toddler, had my first communion as a child and confirmed as a teen. Now as an adult I am thankful that my parents had me participate in these sacraments. I want to do the same for my children, give them the stepping stones for the future. My son was baptized as an infant and his godparents are both Cathoilcs. They have no part of his life now and I wish I had chosen better godparents for him. Im not saying non practicing Catholic god parents would be better for my daughter, but the godparents I so happen to think would provide my child with a better moral knowledge happen to be so. If that makes any sense to you…
 
katiasalomon said:
Ok, I am lost on what to do here. I am a non-practicing Catholic and I want to baptize my infant dautghter. I have the 2 perfect people to act as her godparents but am concerned the church will not allow it. My choice of godmother is a non-practicing catholic and my choice for godfater is christian doesn’t associate with a specific denomination. I know in my heart that my 2 choices as godparents will be positive influences on my child and I want them as godparents. What to do…
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you want to choose people who reject the Catholic faith as the two people who will assist you in raising your child Catholic. What am I missing? the desire to baptize our children does not come from our own emotion or personal preference, it comes from our own Faith and our desire to hand on that faith to our child.
 
katiasalomon said:
Ok, I am lost on what to do here. I am a non-practicing Catholic and I want to baptize my infant dautghter. I have the 2 perfect people to act as her godparents but am concerned the church will not allow it. My choice of godmother is a non-practicing catholic and my choice for godfater is christian doesn’t associate with a specific denomination…
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Your chocie for Godfather could probably act as a “Christian witness” if you had a practicing Catholic to be the Godmother.
I know in my heart that my 2 choices as godparents will be positive influences on my child and I want them as godparents
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Godparents/sponsors are intended to be examples of faith for your child. If someone isn’t practicing the faith then what kind of example of faith is that for your child?

Do you want your child to consider faith an essential part of life or as something that is a hobby/social thing?
 
But could there be a possibility that there are no Catholics there who can make good godparents for your daughter? Besides the church wants assurance from the godparents that they will bring up the newly baptized according to the teachings and customs of the church.
 
I don’t see where anyone has suggested you are wrong for wanting to baptize your child, I see some well intentioned people asking you to go further into your reasons for coming to the Catholic Church to ask for Baptism, and what that means to you, what your faith means to you, and suggesting that surely you will wish to consider exactly what you mean when you decide to bring your child to the Church for Christ’s sacraments, and to hand on the Catholic Faith to your child. These are questions every parent seeking to baptize a child should be asking.
 
Wanting to baptize your child is neither right or wrong. But why would you want to if you don’t plan to raise her Catholic - if your faith is not important enough for you to practice it? Our faith is so much more than a sacramental service station.

The more important question would be - why are you a “non-practicing” Catholic and what do you need to do to become a participating member in our church? What do we, as a church, need to do?

Lest I sound critical (and hypocritical) I was a barely-practicing Catholic when both of my children were baptized. It took me a few years to “get it”, but when you open the door to your heart, the Holy Spirit will take advantage of it. Now I’m one of those Catholics that goes to Mass when I don’t have to and knows what the inside of a confessional looks like. :eek: It could happen to you!
 
katiasalomon said:
Ok, I am lost on what to do here. I am a non-practicing Catholic and I want to baptize my infant dautghter. I have the 2 perfect people to act as her godparents but am concerned the church will not allow it. My choice of godmother is a non-practicing catholic and my choice for godfater is christian doesn’t associate with a specific denomination. I know in my heart that my 2 choices as godparents will be positive influences on my child and I want them as godparents. What to do…
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It will generally be difficult for a non-practicing Catholic to convince a parish pastor that they will actually raise their child in the Cathoic faith, since they themselves do not practice the Catholic faith. In addition Godparents must be Confirmed, practicing Catholics, in good standing with the Church in addition to other requirements.
 
So I appreciate all the information and advice received here, and I have come to realize that you are correct. I cannot teach my children something I don’t know and I cannot expect my children to follow a faith I do not actively follow. I have decided to resume attending St. Vincent and hopefuly I will meet someone there that will sponsor my daughter.
 
you are already well on the way because you are asking great questions and you really want to know the answers, and you have such a love and concern for the welfare of your children. would love to have you come back a few months from now and say how things have been going for you and your family. Many parents find someone to serve as a godparent when they attend the baptismal prep class for parents, or the pastor can suggest someone to you. Those classes by the way are great because the usually deal with the types of question that come up when we first start thinking about the awesome job of raising our children in the Faith.
 
katiasalomon said:
So I appreciate all the information and advice received here, and I have come to realize that you are correct. I cannot teach my children something I don’t know and I cannot expect my children to follow a faith I do not actively follow. I have decided to resume attending St. Vincent and hopefuly I will meet someone there that will sponsor my daughter.
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Very good decision for both you and your child.
 
puzzleannie said:
you are already well on the way because you are asking great questions and you really want to know the answers, and you have such a love and concern for the welfare of your children. would love to have you come back a few months from now and say how things have been going for you and your family. Many parents find someone to serve as a godparent when they attend the baptismal prep class for parents, or the pastor can suggest someone to you. Those classes by the way are great because the usually deal with the types of question that come up when we first start thinking about the awesome job of raising our children in the Faith.
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Thank you. I most certainly will keep you posted as to what develops = )
 
katiasalomon said:
So I appreciate all the information and advice received here, and I have come to realize that you are correct. I cannot teach my children something I don’t know and I cannot expect my children to follow a faith I do not actively follow. I have decided to resume attending St. Vincent and hopefuly I will meet someone there that will sponsor my daughter.
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May God bless you on your journey! May I just say, my dh and I teach a portion of the baptism class in our parish and it’s such a joy to see people who are actively seeking their faith! If you need a sponsor for your child, be sure to ask the parish secretary. There are often people who are willing to do this in the parish. You’ll probably be asked to take some sort of baptism prep course and you might see if they offer an RCIA “refresher” course. These are good ways to meet people in the parish, as well. Please know I and others will be praying for you!
 
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