The Godfather?: Can Christian Witnesses become Godparents?

[TomH1]

I’d say no. Health services in the UK haven’t completely collapsed (afik), if you phone for an ambulance one will still come. Emergency baptisms are intended for just that - emergencies, when time is truly of the essence and it’s unlikely that a priest will be able to make it in time. At the risk of sounding insensitive, there are some who would take it upon themselves to baptise children (their own or, worse, others’) in circumstances falling far short of an emergency. While there’s obviously no harm which can come to the child (spiritually or otherwise) from this, it does create a whole host of canonical headaches later on which is why it’s best avoided. Keep calm and call a priest!

The healthcare services in the UK are, of course, under considerable pressure but you are correct they haven’t completely collapsed nor will they.

I perhaps should have made myself clearer in that I meant should a lay Catholic know how to do emergency baptisms under any circumstances not the unusual ones we currently find ourselves in. I have read that lay Catholics should know how to do this and receive occasional catechesis on this matter.

I do appreciate the circumstances under which emergency baptism should be undertaken. If lay people are to be catechised about how this could be done so anyone unbaptised could be baptised prior to death if a priest could not be had in time that catechesis should include being taught the very limited and unusual circumstances in which it is appropriate and that the baptism must be reported for its proper canonical registration.

I most certainly do not want lay people going round baptising infants or others except in extremis.

 

[Phemie]

In French the noun parrain comes from the Latin for father and the verb comes from the noun. Marraine comes from the Latin for mother but there is no corresponding verb.

We don”t have another word for the liturgical sponsor.

I think this is another instance of English having two words for the same function that other languages don’t have, e.g. reader/lector. Even the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults distinguishes between the sponsor who journeys with you from the start and the godparent(s) you choose for your Baptism. They may be one and the same but the sponsor who accompanied you from the Rite of Acceptance Into the Catechumenate and the sponsor who will be with you from the Rite of Election through the periods of purification and enlightenment and of mystagogy need not be the same person.

 

[InThePew]

I perhaps should have made myself clearer in that I meant should a lay Catholic know how to do emergency baptisms under any circumstances not the unusual ones we currently find ourselves in. I have read that lay Catholics should know how to do this and receive occasional catechesis on this matter.

I can see that having the knowledge would be useful but I’m not I’m not sure it’s all that likely that it’d ever be needed. Major hospitals typically have priests chaplains available on call and able to be there easily within an hour.

 

[Phemie]

TomH1:

I perhaps should have made myself clearer in that I meant should a lay Catholic know how to do emergency baptisms under any circumstances not the unusual ones we currently find ourselves in. I have read that lay Catholics should know how to do this and receive occasional catechesis on this matter.

I can see that having the knowledge would be useful but I’m not I’m not sure it’s all that likely that it’d ever be needed. Major hospitals typically have priests chaplains available on call and able to be there easily within an hour.

I remember being taught how to baptize in Catechism class when I was 9 or 10. The topic also came up when I was in nursing school. While larger hospitals may have chaplains, smaller hospital have to depend on being able to reach the local pastor and that may not be in time if you have a newborn in distress.

 

[TomH1]

I now live near a big city but was brought up in a country village. I think a lot of city dwellers think everybody has easy access to most things as is the case in large cities. They don’t appreciate this is just not the case in small towns, villages and even remoter locations. I once arranged for a group of research students to be taught first aid. They were going to a location where they would be a five hour boat ride away from where they could send for help.