Can a protestant be a Godparent in a Catholic baptism if married to a catholic?

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BartholomewB said:
Actually, yes. The pastor is given the freedom to take it upon himself to exercise his discretion.
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Trust me on this one: he’s not “given [this] freedom.” So, when he does take liberties with his duties, he does so illegitimately. But, if you assert that this is something that’s legit, I’m sure you can point us to a citation from the appropriate resource that grants this right to pastors?

(NB: I’m not arguing that this happens – it does. I’m arguing that it’s not a legitimate exercise of authority as granted to pastors. If you say it is, then please produce the evidence that this is, indeed the case.)
Actually, again, yes. Who decides, in practice, what the wording in the baptismal register will be? Think about it.
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The Church decides. Think about it. 😉

When a couple presents their candidates for baptismal sponsors (or Christian witness), the potential sponsors produce documentation regarding the sacraments they’ve received (or an affidavit attesting to the reception of the sacraments). In that way, then, the person who enters the information into the register knows whether to list someone as a ‘Christian Witness’ or not.

(And yes, sometimes mistakes are made in registers; sometimes, even, deliberate falsifications appear there. That doesn’t mean that it’s correct, though.)
 
Memaw said:
I grew up never knowing my godparents as they were “on the spot” chosen by Fr. because my aunt and uncle couldn’t make it because of a snow storm.
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It sounds like your actual godparents were wonderful people. But it seems strange to me that they didn’t act as proxies rather than as godparents. I guess some pastors/bishops don’t allow that?

I never knew my godparents. They were friends of my parents but the families lost touch after a few moves. My siblings all had aunts and uncles as godparents but none of them actually attended the baptisms; local Catholics stood in for all of the them.
 
Thank you everybody for the responses. I was completely unaware of the difference between a sponsor and a Christian witness. Yes, the baby’s father was a little doubtful, particularly because they didn’t get to speak with the priest, and he mentioned it to my husband who in turn came to ask me. Basically the sponsor or actual Godparent would be the catholic brother and his wife would be a Christian witness and the baptism would be perfectly valid…the baby’s mom loves the idea of having a married couple as Godparents so I guess the Deacon mentioned that is a nice to have it like that. Also, while she is not Catholic she is pretty good in the sense that she goes to mass with everybody else, se3 is raising her kids catholic. Probably she can do a pretty good job after the baptism and stay involved in the child’s life and be a good example.
 
Memaw said:
The protestant can only be a witness along with a Catholic Godparent. The Catholic Godparent must be a confirmed, practicing Catholic. Surely the priest knows that and can explain it to them. Choosing Godparents for the baby should be a serious decision for the parents. I grew up never knowing my godparents as they were “on the spot” chosen by Fr. because my aunt and uncle couldn’t make it because of a snow storm. I met my Godmother when I was 50 years old. My Godfather was alread dead. My Godmother told me she never stopped praying for me all those years. and I found out from an older friend that knew my Godfather that he was a very devout Catholic that took his faith seriously and she was sure he prayed for me along with his other Godchildren. I am sooo grateful for my strong Catholic Godparents that never forgot me.They are always in my prayers, Masses and also their families here on earth. God Bless, Memaw
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That is very nice that they prayed for you and you were able to at least met your Godmother. I know several people whose Godparents completely disappeared from their life, including my husband whose Godmother completely disappeared from his life when he was about 3 and I think that is sad 😦 I was lucky because I have two great Godparents and very involved in my life and I think that is a blessing. The fact that at least they kept you always in your prayers is very nice to know.
 
marymary1975 said:
My cousin in law is baptizing his daughter in the catholic church and they have chosen as Godparents his brother and his wife. The brother is indeed Catholic but the wife – who is to be the Godmother – is Protestant (born and raised and not contemplating becoming catholic any time soon). They got married in the Protestant church but they received proper dispensation from the catholic church for their marriage and despite she doesnt have plans to convert she agreed to and they are raising their kids catholic.

My understanding is that for baptism the Godparents must be Catholics in good standing, in fact my own priest for baptism has requested baptism and confirmation certificates from the catholic church for the Godparents so I am a little surprised about this. My cousin in law says says that the Deacon told them that his Protestant sister in law can be the Godmother and that the Godparents should be married (which I’ve never heard of either) so because she is the Godfather’s wife she can be a Catholic Godparent even if she is catholic :confused::confused:

The church they attend doesn’t really has a priest (priests from neighboring towns go there to say masses or when in needed) so the Deacon is the one that organizes baptisms, etc. Because they haven’t spoken to a priest instead with a Deacon I am not sure as again, I’ve never heard of this.

So is there an exception to the rule that a Godparent has to be catholic? Can a protestant , whose never received sacraments in the Church , be a Godparent in a Catholic baptism if she is in an interfaith marriage with a Catholic? Is there are liturgical rule that says the Godfather and the Godmother should be married? Should I suggest to my cousin in law to double check with an actual priest?
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A non-Catholic is not permitted to be a Godparent. Only Catholics may be Godparents. Canon Law is absolutely clear on this issue.
 
Well, now I have a question in regard to post #18 by the person who enters the data in the church record. I was asked to be Godmother to the baby daughter of my husband’s best friend. (He is Catholic and was Best Man at our wedding) My husband however, is not Catholic, and unbaptized. (We got a dispensation for that.) His friend asked him to be her Godfather. I asked a priest I knew here (OK) about this and he said sure, he could witness, and that is was really good of us to do so! The baptism took place in IL. I expected to be the one actively participating, but the father handed the baby to my husband and he held her during the administration of the sacrament! The priest didn’t ask anything about us, as I recall. We signed the paperwork. This child has only one Godparent, right? Our friend still refers to my husband as his daughter’s Godfather but he’s just a witness, right? Or is he really not even that because he’s not baptized himself? The girl is 12 years old now and I wonder if this needs to be brought up, as I doubt she has any idea he’s not her Godfather, or if I should just let it go.
 
Nix89 said:
Well, now I have a question in regard to post #18 by the person who enters the data in the church record. I was asked to be Godmother to the baby daughter of my husband’s best friend. (He is Catholic and was Best Man at our wedding) My husband however, is not Catholic, and unbaptized. (We got a dispensation for that.) His friend asked him to be her Godfather. I asked a priest I knew here (OK) about this and he said sure, he could witness, and that is was really good of us to do so! The baptism took place in IL. I expected to be the one actively participating, but the father handed the baby to my husband and he held her during the administration of the sacrament! The priest didn’t ask anything about us, as I recall. We signed the paperwork. This child has only one Godparent, right? Our friend still refers to my husband as his daughter’s Godfather but he’s just a witness, right? Or is he really not even that because he’s not baptized himself? The girl is 12 years old now and I wonder if this needs to be brought up, as I doubt she has any idea he’s not her Godfather, or if I should just let it go.
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I would just let it go for now. I’m sure he’s on her baptismal record as a witness. Some day she will see that and ask her parents why? That’s their place to explain. You know your the only actual Godparent and that’s all that is necessary to you. Even if they inadvertently put him down as godparent on the baptismal certificate, he still really isn’t. God Bless, Memaw
 
BartholomewB said:
Marymary

Strictly speaking, only a duly confirmed Catholic can be a godparent under canon law. See Vico’s post #43 on one of several recent threads dealing with the same question:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=970377&page=3

In practice, though, each parish is given the freedom to apply the rule strictly or to make exceptions at the pastor’s discretion. If the parents are in doubt, they can have a quiet word with the priest who’s going to baptize the child. It’s up to him to accept or reject the godfather’s non-Catholic wife. From cases I have observed in my own family, I’d say it’s extremely unlikely that he would raise an objection. In any case, the baptism is valid, whether or not the godparents are confirmed, or even if they’re not Catholics at all.
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I do not see anywhere in the section on baptism of the Code of Canon Law where the priest has such discretion. Instead, it is very plain that a non-Catholic may only serve as a Christian witness. Remember that according to the Code, one of the tasks of a sponsor is to help the newly baptized to lead a Christian life. We can safely assume that means all the Church teaches----including those things which we disagree with Protestants about. Only in the Eastern Catholic churches according to the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches may a non-Catholic serve as a sponsor, and the non-Catholics referred to are those of the Eastern churches, not in full communion with us. This is due to them have very similar beliefs and theology to the Eastern Catholics. See CCEO Canon 685 section 3.
 
I’ve run into a situation where the priest never asked anything about the sponsors except their names. A few years later the parents returned with a second child to be baptized. Upon being told that their choice of two non-Catholic to be sponsors could not be allowed, it came out that their first child had no Catholic sponsor and since that had been perfectly fine we were now being totally unreasonable. They left and didn’t return until four years later, a day after I published the Canons on Sponsors in the parish bulletin.

I almost cried that Monday when I answered the door at the office to find dad standing there with Joey and hearing him say “We’d like to have him baptized.” They’d thought we were the one’s imposing the “must have a Catholic sponsor” rule. Once they realized it was Church law, they were fine.

This could have all been avoided if
  • our parishioners had been better catechized;
  • the priest who baptized their first had acted more responsible or had not assumed anything;
  • the person dealing with them at the time of their first request to have Joey baptized had better explained Church law.
I’m just happy the Pastor gave me free rein with the bulletin and I was inspired to do two articles on Baptism, quoting Canon Law in both. I was so happy to find the smallest altar server alb we had and alter it so that it could become Joey’s baptismal garment.
 
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