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haroldeskew
Guest
A child may have as few as one godparent, a male or female, and as many as two godparents, one male and one female. A child cannot have two male godparents nor two female godparents. Why is this the case?
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GoLatin
Guest
I guess so that a child can have Christian influence from both a male and female perspective.
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cameron_lansing
Guest
Tertullian (de Bapt.) is the first to mention sponsors for baptism, and it appears only one was originally needed. However, the institute seemed to develop on the basis of an analogy of spiritual parenthood to natural parenthood. This analogy of parenthood was confirmed at the time of Thomas Aquinas since he writes in Summa Theologica( III-67-8) of a copaternity arising from the lifting of the child from the font by the godfather. The imitation developed further into the use of godfather and godmother.
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Br.Rich_SFO
Guest
Canon Law specifies one Catholic Godparent or if two one of each gender. That is generally followed here. However there is a trend to have one Catholic Godparent and another Catholic Godparent of the opposite gender OR a Christian Witness of EITHER gender. It is becoming not uncommon to see what looks like two God-mothers or God-fathers at a Baptism. I read it as opposite genders being required in either case. But I can’t find a foothold to argue the point. I’m told the wording of Canon Law seems to allow this. It does not specify when speaking about the Christian Witness that they must be the opposite gender of the Catholic Godparent. Anyone else see this happening?
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genealogist
Guest
My first child has my Catholic sister as his godmother and her Baptist husband as the Christian witness. My second child has our college friends, two Catholic godparents one male and one female(not married to each other).
Our third child however was in the situation Brother Rich describes. My wife is not Catholic and we chose a Catholic friend as the sponsor and another Presbyterian friend from my wife’s congregation as the Chrsitian Witness. She was honored to be asked and later asked if it was okay since she is not Catholic. I told her that Jane is the sponsor and you are called a Christian Witness. She said that she played that role at her niece’s Lutheran Church Missouri Synod baptism. (She had been raised LCMS but joined the PCUSA with her formerly Episcopalian husband so they could be in one church.) I told her that if she were Catholic, she and Jane could NOT both serve as sponsors. I also gave her a copy of the ceremony before and said the only thing I thought she would not recite would be the litany of saints. We refer to both women as my daughter’s godmothers.
We did not have a male sponsor or witness in mind and since we thought both women would be good role models and pray for our daughter we chose this route. I did check with the chancellor to make sure that my reading was correct and he said yes.
Our third child however was in the situation Brother Rich describes. My wife is not Catholic and we chose a Catholic friend as the sponsor and another Presbyterian friend from my wife’s congregation as the Chrsitian Witness. She was honored to be asked and later asked if it was okay since she is not Catholic. I told her that Jane is the sponsor and you are called a Christian Witness. She said that she played that role at her niece’s Lutheran Church Missouri Synod baptism. (She had been raised LCMS but joined the PCUSA with her formerly Episcopalian husband so they could be in one church.) I told her that if she were Catholic, she and Jane could NOT both serve as sponsors. I also gave her a copy of the ceremony before and said the only thing I thought she would not recite would be the litany of saints. We refer to both women as my daughter’s godmothers.
We did not have a male sponsor or witness in mind and since we thought both women would be good role models and pray for our daughter we chose this route. I did check with the chancellor to make sure that my reading was correct and he said yes.
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cameron_lansing
Guest
Br. Rich SFO:
The issue of the sex of sponsors seems quite settled by the plain text of canon 873 and the canonical tradition, but canon 874 §2 is silent about the sex of any Christian witness.
This is an innovation in the 1983 code which is inspired from the desire to accomodate an ecumenical sensitivity about baptism that appeared in the 1967 Ecumenical Directory (n. 10), following the thought of Vatican II.
Number 57: “However because of ties of blood or friendship, a Christian of another communion since he has faith in Christ, can be admitted with a Catholic godparent as a Christian witness of the baptism. In comparable circumstances a Catholic can do the same for a member of a separated community.” No restrictions of sex are treated in that directory.
Designating a sponsor or a Christian witness is a right which the parents or those legally taking their place would possess. Laws which restrict the free exercise of rights are subject to strict interpretation (c. 14).
Though the legislator did restrict sponsors on the basis of sex, he did not so in the case of Christian witnesses. If the legislator wanted to restrict the right of the parents here by establishing qualifying prerequisites for the Christian witness, he would have needed to do this expressly.
The only restriction of the code is that a Catholic cannot serve as a Christian witness at a Catholic baptism.
Generally, I ask the parents why they have chosen a Christian witness, and make special mention of what this role is at baptisms, and what it means for the person. Since few baptisms will include an assembly that is entirely Catholic and knowledgeable about their faith, among other things, I often remark about the communion of the saints and why we seek their prayers.
I do not think I could find a foothold either.
The issue of the sex of sponsors seems quite settled by the plain text of canon 873 and the canonical tradition, but canon 874 §2 is silent about the sex of any Christian witness.
This is an innovation in the 1983 code which is inspired from the desire to accomodate an ecumenical sensitivity about baptism that appeared in the 1967 Ecumenical Directory (n. 10), following the thought of Vatican II.
Number 57: “However because of ties of blood or friendship, a Christian of another communion since he has faith in Christ, can be admitted with a Catholic godparent as a Christian witness of the baptism. In comparable circumstances a Catholic can do the same for a member of a separated community.” No restrictions of sex are treated in that directory.
Designating a sponsor or a Christian witness is a right which the parents or those legally taking their place would possess. Laws which restrict the free exercise of rights are subject to strict interpretation (c. 14).
Though the legislator did restrict sponsors on the basis of sex, he did not so in the case of Christian witnesses. If the legislator wanted to restrict the right of the parents here by establishing qualifying prerequisites for the Christian witness, he would have needed to do this expressly.
The only restriction of the code is that a Catholic cannot serve as a Christian witness at a Catholic baptism.
Generally, I ask the parents why they have chosen a Christian witness, and make special mention of what this role is at baptisms, and what it means for the person. Since few baptisms will include an assembly that is entirely Catholic and knowledgeable about their faith, among other things, I often remark about the communion of the saints and why we seek their prayers.
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