Priest says that we can’t pick my daughters godfather....?

[babochka]

babochka:

An Orthodox godparent is allowed if there is also a Catholic godparent.

A non-Catholic can serve as a Christian witness to the baptism, but they are not actually a godparent/sponsor.

Orthodox Christians are in a different category. I’ll look up the canon when I get a chance, or perhaps someone else can provide it

 

[irishtexan]

Father said that Orthodox is fine, at one point. I need to research cannon law on this one.

 

[EnglishTeacher]

Canon 874 is the one that gives the qualifications for baptismal sponsors. Two relevant portions:

To be permitted to take on the function of sponsor, the person must…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.

A baptized person who belongs to a non-Catholic ecclesial community is not to participate except together with a Catholic sponsor and then only as a witness of the baptism.

There could be some other provision for the Orthodox, but it is not mentioned in that section.

(All the links in the above quotes were already embedded from the Canon Law site, and it would be more trouble than it is worth to go through and remove them all.)

 

[RyanBlack]

“Non-Catholic ecclesial community” is a destination that refers to Protestants, not the Orthodox.

 

[1ke]

There could be some other provision for the Orthodox, but it is not mentioned in that section.

The Orthodox are true particular churches, not ecclesial communities.

The governing document in this case is the Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism:

Because of the close communion between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox churches, it is permissible for a just cause for an Eastern faithful to act as godparent, together with a Catholic godparent, at the baptism of a Catholic infant or adult, so long as there is provision for the Catholic education of the person being baptized, and it is clear that the godparent is a suitable one.