Your son has no godfather. Canon Law states that only Catholics can stand as sponsors at a Catholic baptism. Your Lutheran friend stood as a Christian witness of the baptism, not as a sponsor. A Christian witness is not expected to fulfill the role assigned to a sponsor in Canon Law, since he cannot give what he does not have, i.e. the Catholic faith.My son has a Catholic godmother and a Lutheran godfather. My daughter only has a Catholic godfather. No godmother.
We just don’t have many Catholic friends, and most of our relatives are out of the questions. If we are blessed with more kids we will need to start repeating God parents.
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#5 would be upset to hear that he or she “almost” exists, lol. Congratulations!I would definitely not assume that. I have four (almost 5) kids, and they all have different godparents. Surely, my kids would not go 5 separate ways if my husband and I were to die! They would remain together. Some of my kids godparents are too old or too young to take on my children, and some are not suited to parenthood. My sister and brother in law would get my kids if we died. They are cafeteria catholics, but they are the reasonable choice because they are also raising kids right now, live in our city, are willing to take in all five, and are closest to my kids.
Why would a person be ok to be a godparent of one child and not the other?There is no such assumption. I don’t know anybody who has the same godparents for all their kids, and who would want to send every kid to a different house if both parents died? Or in the case of my oldest son, whose godfather is a priest, he could certainly not be expected to take custody of his godson. The godparents would simply be made aware of where the kids are living and who is now raising them, and keep in contact, be spiritual mentors, and continue to pray for their godchildren and encourage them in the faith. A godparent not previously known to the parents before baptism would still incur a spiritual relationship with the family by virtue of being godparents (both the parents and the godparents have to consent anyway, so you can’t be forced to have any particular person as godparent) and presumably that relationship would deepen as time goes by and the godparents become part of the child’s spiritual life.
I don’t mean that the person is not OK to be godparents of one child but not another. Parents are certainly free to have the same godparents for all their children if they want, and to set it up so that the godparents get the kids if they want. But most people don’t do that, and it’s not automatic that the godparents get the kids. If by circumstance, the godparents wind up thousands of miles away, I wouldn’t expect them to come to the First Communion or Confirmation, but a phone call, a gift, and a promise of prayer would be appropriate. I would hope that the godparents would at least in contact a few times a year to see how the godchild is doing. If financially possible, they could at least attend a high school or college graduation, or the wedding. And like I said, I would consider asking somebody that I knew to be devout in the hopes that they might become a family friend over time, comfortable that even if they didn’t, they would uphold their spiritual duties as godparents.Why would a person be ok to be a godparent of one child and not the other?
If I have a child at this command, would his/her godparent be required to travel 1,000s of miles to witness first communion or confirmation? I could see a very close family friend traveling, but I don’t see someone who, as others have stated, are just really devout Catholics in the parish.