Godparents question..

agapecarrie

There's lots of people that choose Godparents that aren't that faithful either...they need to be evangelized as well.  I don't see it as a big deal. When I was Godmother I wanted to go to a class, even though they didn't offer one. And I knew lots more about the faith than the normal middle of the road.

agapecarrie

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_godparents-question?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:615Discussion:977ff31d-7225-45eb-8671-bd5128c48accPost:71ddd63a-c340-4181-ad5e-2f94519164db">Re: Godparents question..</a>:
[QUOTE]the class i went to was frightening. first question:  why do we get baptised? i was the only one who raised my hand. i think most of these parents are clueless becuase they never got good catechism growing up, and completely inadequate precana.  this all goes to the breakdown in education of the faith.  i know several people who teach CCD and they have no idea what their faith is about.  no clue how they could  be teaching catechism when they dont get the faith themselves.  i mean, i cant tell you how many catholics i know that honestly believe that the immaculate conception was that mary got pregnant with jesus without sex.
Posted by Calypso1977[/QUOTE]
I think this proves my point why the classes are needed.

Calypso1977

the priest should be able to decide whether someone can be waived out of a class.  my sisters priest knew we didnt need the class, but the diocese ordered it for all.  stuff like this cant be uniform.  its stuff like this that turns people away.

catarntina

Frankly, the thought of taking a class doesn't bother me one bit.  The class is a free at my church.  It's 1 Thursday evening I have to give up.

It probably answers a lot of questions that I'm sure they could just have a secretary answer.  For instance, "when will the baby be baptized?" "What should the baby wear?" "What else can we expect on the day of baptism?"  But I'm sure it'll answer other questions, too.

Even though I go to church, and I went to Catholic school as a kid, I'm sure I will learn something from this class.

Having to go to the class for every.single.child may be excessive, but given that this is my first, I have no qualms with taking a class.  And really, it's only 1 evening.

catarntina

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_godparents-question?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:615Discussion:977ff31d-7225-45eb-8671-bd5128c48accPost:e7733a3d-7f11-4198-886a-2d8d217cac8f">Re: Godparents question..</a>:
[QUOTE]There's lots of people that choose Godparents that aren't that faithful either...they need to be evangelized as well.  I don't see it as a big deal. When I was Godmother I wanted to go to a class, even though they didn't offer one. And I knew lots more about the faith than the normal middle of the road.
Posted by agapecarrie[/QUOTE]

My priest makes sure that the Godparents are 'living a Catholic lifestyle.' IE, that make sure if they are married that they were married in the Catholic church, that they are attending church, etc.  I don't know if the Godparents have to attend to the classes, but I do know they make sure they are at least faithful.

Karen's MOH

I was just made godmother of my nephew this weekend. I had to get a letter from my parish stating I was a current, active member. It sounds like the people OP's mother want her to use aren't, so there is an easy way around it right there.

However, the priest who baptized my nephew was extremely lenient-- my brother is divorced and remarried, and while he has already filed annullment papers, it hasn't gone through and they chose to get married and get pregnant while waiting for it. Because of this, their local parish wouldn't give them a letter saying he could be godfather, but the priest officially made him godfather anyway.

So, I guess that just demonstrates that it varies by parish. Also, at first they said we had to do a godparent course, which I would have done one Sunday afternoon at my local parish for free, but then they said we didn't and just needed the letter.

agapecarrie

there only needs to be one godparent, the other can be a Christian witness. Those in an irregular marriage technically cannot be godparents, but if there is one catholic godparent already, they could be in place as a Christian witness.