What do we do about a deficient godparent?

[rie64]

I have a quick question for anyone who may know the anwser. My son is now 8 and I am seriously questioning our choice as Godfather. In the event that something were to happen to both my husband and myself I would not want this person to be responsible for raising my child. We have come to realize that he has no moral character. My question is this - is it possible to remove one Godparent and replace him with another?
Thanks for any (name removed by moderator)ut

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Dear rie,

I don’t know what responsibilities you conveyed to your son’s godfather. But ordinarily a godparent is only expected to be responsible for the child’s spiritual welfare and not necessarily his entire up-keep.

Even though the godparent’s name remains in the baptismal register at the parish in which the baptism took place, you can certainly ask someone else to take over the duties of the godparent and specify how extensive you prefer those duties to be. Be sure to leave this information in your will.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.