Baptism Question

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RedRose37

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Hi, I’m new on the forum and mainly joined because I had a big question. I went to a baptism this weekend and the godmother is married through the court but has not had her marriage convalidated. I thought this wasn’t allowed? Thanks!
 
RedRose37 said:
Hi, I’m new on the forum and mainly joined because I had a big question. I went to a baptism this weekend and the godmother is married through the court but has not had her marriage convalidated. I thought this wasn’t allowed? Thanks!
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In our Arch-Diocese, the godparents, if married, must be validly married in the Church.
 
Can. 874 §1. To be permitted to take on the function of sponsor a person must:
1/ be designated by the one to be baptized, by the parents or the person who takes their place, or in their absence by the pastor or minister and have the aptitude and intention of fulfilling this function;
2/ have completed the sixteenth year of age, unless the diocesan bishop has established another age, or the pastor or minister has granted an exception for a just cause;
3/ be a Catholic who has been confirmed and has already received the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist and who leads a life of faith in keeping with the function to be taken on;
4/ not be bound by any canonical penalty legitimately imposed or declared;
5/ not be the father or mother of the one to be baptized.
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You’re right, it’s not allowed. Some parishes check these things more carefully than others.
 
I knew something felt wrong. I used to volunteer at my church and had heard it been discussed before with previous baptisms. How can be situation be rectified and does it have any bearing on the child? I’m pretty sure the baptism would still be valid because it takes a lot for a baptism to be declared invalid but I’m concerned.
 
The sponsors have no bearing on the validity of the baptism.

How can the situation be rectified? Discuss it with your pastor. He’s the one who can enforce or ignore the rules.
 
What’s done is done. The role of the sponsor is primarily as a witness at the baptism, and once they’ve fulfilled the role, you can’t undo that. You can’t unring a bell, as it were. You can’t fire godparents, basically. If someone isn’t living the life they’re supposed to be and has been appointed a godparent, or falls into sinful ways after having been appointed, the parents could of course ask others to serve as good exemplars in the faith for their children. But they can’t really un-godparent someone.

Also, in this situation, we don’t really have enough information, but it’s entirely possible that the person is on their way to having their marriage convalidated and just hasn’t had it done yet. All that was said was that it was someone civilly married but not convalidated; we don’t know that they’re living a life in opposition to the Church’s teaching and practice.

-ACEGC
 
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