Godparent question

[CelinaAnais]

I am new here and just finished posting a brief introduction on the Meet and Greet thread.

My name is Celina and I am married to a soldier. We are currently stationed in Alaska. We have 5 living children (one in utero and 9 in heaven.

I reverted and my husband converted at the same time in 2000. We try to live as faithfully to the Church’s teachings as we can.

My question is about godparents.

My husband has a brother who has been pretty troubled throughout life. When we had 3 of our children baptized, appropriate godparents were hard to come by. My husband asked his brother if he would, though he is not Catholic but he said that he had been considering coming to the Church. Yeah, what a coincidence. Our priest said as long as he was in the process of becoming Catholic, he can be the godfather. Because of this, and against my better judgement, I agreed.

This was about 5 years ago. In the meantime, he has never persued RCIA and seems to have turned to the occult. Many of the things I have seen him show affinity towards are downright satanic.

(Our third child’s godparents never really stepped up to the plate either but as far as I know, they are not involved in the occult and last I knew, were practicing Catholics).

So, is he validly the godfather? Would he have to formally renounce his being a godparent? Is it all okay (to keep the family peace) if we just find another practicing Catholic to be a godparent?

Thank you for your time. Sorry for the ramble. This just weighs heavily on me and we will be visiting this part of the family soon and I know it will come up. And I would really like to set this right. It really angers me that the whole thing seems to be because he thought the title Godfather was a cool one to have.

Celina

 

[az_4_faith]

Unfortunately, he’ll always be your child’s Godfather. It can’t be undone.

Of course, there’s nothing preventing you from “adopting” another Catholic to mentor your child. He/She can’t officially be listed as a Godparent to the child, but can certainly guide him/her spiritually.

Don’t beat yourself up too much. You’re not alone. Unfortunately, many people chosen as Godparents fail to live up to their promises. Keep praying for them, maybe that’s why God put you in their lives.

 

[CelinaAnais]

Thank you for your reply.

Does this mean that it was okay for him to be the godparent in the first place? Not that I am going read our priest the riot act or anything but was it okay for the only godparent to not actually be Catholic?

Thank you again for your time.

Celina

 

[az_4_faith]

Does your child not have a Godmother?

 

[CelinaAnais]

No, they have no other godparent.

Celina

 

[az_4_faith]

Hmmm. I was hoping you’d say there was a Catholic-in-good-standing Godmother involved.

Best bet is to take these questions to an authority in your diocese. Apparently, the priest who performed the baptism was okay with the brother’s intent to become Catholic, and allowed him to fill the role. That may be the end of it.

But if the brother never actually did anything to pursue the Catholic faith - that could mean another thing. Was he actually enrolled in RCIA before the baptism and attending, but dropped out? If he never did anything but say he was going to attend, then shame on the priest. He shouldn’t have allowed him to be the sponsor.

In any event, I’m sure you’ll get the proper answers from someone trained in baptismal preparation and canon law. Either ask your pastor for help in finding the right authority, or maybe even he can give you your answers.

In the meantime, enjoy the forums!

You could even pose this question to the Ask-An-Expert forum.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

I am new here and just finished posting a brief introduction on the Meet and Greet thread.

My name is Celina and I am married to a soldier. We are currently stationed in Alaska. We have 5 living children (one in utero and 9 in heaven.

I reverted and my husband converted at the same time in 2000. We try to live as faithfully to the Church’s teachings as we can.

My question is about godparents.

My husband has a brother who has been pretty troubled throughout life. When we had 3 of our children baptized, appropriate godparents were hard to come by. My husband asked his brother if he would, though he is not Catholic but he said that he had been considering coming to the Church. Yeah, what a coincidence. Our priest said as long as he was in the process of becoming Catholic, he can be the godfather. Because of this, and against my better judgement, I agreed.

This was about 5 years ago. In the meantime, he has never persued RCIA and seems to have turned to the occult. Many of the things I have seen him show affinity towards are downright satanic.

(Our third child’s godparents never really stepped up to the plate either but as far as I know, they are not involved in the occult and last I knew, were practicing Catholics).

So, is he validly the godfather? Would he have to formally renounce his being a godparent? Is it all okay (to keep the family peace) if we just find another practicing Catholic to be a godparent?

Thank you for your time. Sorry for the ramble. This just weighs heavily on me and we will be visiting this part of the family soon and I know it will come up. And I would really like to set this right. It really angers me that the whole thing seems to be because he thought the title Godfather was a cool one to have.

Celina

Your husbands brother never qualified as a Godparent according to Canon Law. That does not invalidate the Baptism. It just means that there is no official Godparent. He never was so there is nothing for him to renounce. Just find another good Catholic that will act as your childs Sponsor when time comes for Confirmation.