Parent must be confirmed for childrens' baptism?

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cassman

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My brother-in-law wanted to get his children baptized. The priest asked if he was a practicing Catholic (he has not been Confirmed). He said that he had interest in being Confirmed but because he is a single parent, he has a hard time committing to certain days to go to Confirmation classes.

The priest refused to baptize the babies because my brother-in-law needed to be confirmed first. He said that he needed to be confirmed first.

What do you think?
 
Confirmation of the parents AND godparents is normally required unless the life of hte child is threatened.
 
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cassman:
What do you think?
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The priest is clearly out-of-line here. As long as there is a well-founded hope that the children will be brought up in the Catholic faith, the priest has no authority to impose additional requirements on top of the Church’s canon law.

Your brother-in-law should first write to the bishop, and then to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
 
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Apologia100:
Confirmation of the parents AND godparents is normally required unless the life of hte child is threatened.
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While it is true the sponsor\godparent must be confirmed, Canon Law seems silent on the status of the parent.

Canon Law only requires a “well founded hope” that the child be raised in the Catholic Church.

If they are attending Mass regularly, and the fact the BIL expressed interest in Confirmation, it would seem to qualify as a ‘well founded hope’
 
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Brendan:
While it is true the sponsor\godparent must be confirmed, Canon Law seems silent on the status of the parent.

Canon Law only requires a “well founded hope” that the child be raised in the Catholic Church.

If they are attending Mass regularly, and the fact the BIL expressed interest in Confirmation, it would seem to qualify as a ‘well founded hope’
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Just so.

Can. 868 §1 For an infant to be baptized lawfully it is required:
1° that the parents, or at least one of them, or the person who lawfully holds their place, give their consent;
2° that there be a wellfounded hope that the child will be brought up in the catholic religion. If such hope is truly lacking, the baptism is, in accordance with the provisions of particular law, to be deferred and the parents advised of the reason for this.
…

Can. 874 §1 To be admitted to undertake the office of sponsor, a person must: …
3° be a catholic who has been confirmed and has received the blessed Eucharist, and who lives a life of faith which befits the role to be undertaken; …

Blessings,

Gerry
 
Not being confirmed does not prevent one from being in communion with the Church, at least not as far as any canonical restrictions imply…would the same priest baptize an infant if the parents were not married? Or marry someone in the Church who has not been confirmed? The absence of confirmation does not make this man any less Catholic, so I am confused as to what justification was offered for the priest’s decision (I guess the good father didn’t feel he needed justification). While he should be encouraged to become a “full member”, from a pastoral stance, someone should be willing to work with his schedule to make that a possibility for him…in my parish, we generally only require 2 or 3 sessions to prepare for adult confirmation. I would say, try to find another parish where the pastoral concerns of are greater concern.

Peace…
 
One is obliged to seek the Sacrament of Confirmation
Can. 890 The faithful are bound to receive this sacrament at the proper time. Parents and pastors of souls, especially parish priests, are to see that the faithful are properly instructed to receive the sacrament and come to it at the opportune time.
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The only explanation I can see is that the pastor regards failure to do this would hurt the hope that the child will be raised Catholic.

The situation should be negotiable.
 
Some parents have had their children baptized because they like the sound of it. Instances like that may have left a bad taste in the priest’s mouth.

If the father is serious about trying to raise the child as Catholic, there is no reason why the baptism should not occur. Has the father tried to work out an alternative schedule for attending classes?
 
Re Anointing of Sick - See:

Mark 6:8-13
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick–no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.
He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” So they went off and preached repentance. They drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
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and

James 5:14-15
Is anyone among you sick? 6 He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint (him) with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.
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Joe Kelley:
One is obliged to seek the Sacrament of Confirmation The only explanation I can see is that the pastor regards failure to do this would hurt the hope that the child will be raised Catholic. The situation should be negotiable.
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I’m also placing my bets on the priest having worries that the child may not receive enough instruction from a man who can’t seem to find the time to get confirmed. Let’s give the father the benefit of the doubt, but let’s do the same for the priest. Both of them are trying to do what’s right. I’d like to know more of the exchange. For instance, when told that the priest was going to require him to receive Confirmation, did the father ask for help in working around his schedule, or did he just leave unsatisfied? Or, similarly, was the priest closed to any sort of compromise?
 
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cassman:
My brother-in-law wanted to get his children baptized. The priest asked if he was a practicing Catholic (he has not been Confirmed). He said that he had interest in being Confirmed but because he is a single parent, he has a hard time committing to certain days to go to Confirmation classes.

The priest refused to baptize the babies because my brother-in-law needed to be confirmed first. He said that he needed to be confirmed first.

What do you think?
Click to expand...
Your BIL may have misunderstood the priest. The requirement is that the parent(s) be practicing Catholics and are willing to raise the child in the Catholic Faith. It does not matter that the parent has not received the Sacrament of Confirmation. Godparents on the other hand are required to be practicing and Confirmed Catholics in order to fill that role.
 
Andreas Hofer:
I’d like to know more of the exchange. For instance, when told that the priest was going to require him to receive Confirmation, did the father ask for help in working around his schedule, or did he just leave unsatisfied? Or, similarly, was the priest closed to any sort of compromise?
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To my knowledge, he left unsatisfied. See, the BIL is not very… how shall I say this…“strong” in his faith. He does NOT go to mass regularly. He’ll go for 6 weeks, then not go for three. I know that the BIL wants to do the “right thing” for his children. Yet at the same time, he thinks of me as a fanatic (because I do the right think by attending mass each Sunday :confused: !!!)

He really is more of a “cradle Catholic” than anything else in regards to this. He is easily pushed off when it comes to religion. So when the priest said something along the lines of him needing to get confirmed or whatever, he was put off by that. It is very frustrating. Any suggestions?
 
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cassman:
To my knowledge, he left unsatisfied. See, the BIL is not very… how shall I say this…“strong” in his faith. He does NOT go to mass regularly. He’ll go for 6 weeks, then not go for three. I know that the BIL wants to do the “right thing” for his children. Yet at the same time, he thinks of me as a fanatic (because I do the right think by attending mass each Sunday :confused: !!!)

He really is more of a “cradle Catholic” than anything else in regards to this. He is easily pushed off when it comes to religion. So when the priest said something along the lines of him needing to get confirmed or whatever, he was put off by that. It is very frustrating. Any suggestions?
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Well, the priest probably would have been right to doubt that the children would be raised in the Faith. Suggestions?
Pray for your brother-in-law and his children.

Who would the godparents be? If they are sufficiently strong Catholics and have a good enough relationship with the family, maybe he can show the priest that their involvement will overcome his (your BIL’s) seeming lack of commitment. However, any action on your part other than just trying to “convert” your BIL would probably be counterproductive because it will be seen as interference/not respecting his role and/or rights as a father/etc.
 
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