Catholic baby with a Jewish Godfather?

Kingston54

Just wondering if this is even possible.

I am Catholic.  DH was raised Jewish.  Our baby will be Catholic.  My best friend/Godmother is Catholic.  DH's brother was raised Jewish.

Has anyone ever heard of the Catholic church allowing a Jewish Godparent as long as one is Catholic?  I know only one Godparent is necessary, but DH insists his brother must be included at the church... which I support, but I am not sure if a church will allow it.

We recently moved to his hometown so I don't have a church here yet, or I'd just ask our priest.

 Any stories/information you have, I'd love to hear! Thanks

tnpjuly04

I'm pretty sure you're fine.  The rule is one baptised AND confirmed Catholic.  The other can be whatever.  However, if the Catholic is not confirmed, they cannot be a grandparent at all.  When DD#1 was born the to-be godmother wasn't confirmed yet, so we had to wait until she was to have the baptism.

Double check with your church, but I'm 99.99% sure that you are ok.

JinglesChic

The Church will allow it usually if the Godmother is Catholic. The Godfather will officially be a witness and not labelled as the Godfather, but it's basically the same thing. They just want one of the two to be Catholic.

NiniJ55

I am catholic.  I am under the impression that the God-parent(s) must be catholic. I am not sure though... ask this coming Sunday.

Nicole731

They would not allow him to be a Godfather. A Godparent is someone to guide the child in the Catholic faith, and thus a Jewish person would not be seen as acceptable to do that. If the person you have chosen to be the Godmother is confirmed Catholic, then you should be fine. You can have the Jewish brother be a "witness" and thus still be included in the ceremony, but he would not be an official Godfather in the eyes of the church.

heather_09_15_07

I'm sure it depends on the priest and the parish but I believe only one needs to be a confirmed Catholic.

colliedog

Actually a god parent is to guide the child in all/any faiths, i am not Catholic and i still have god parents. I do agree with everyone, i am sure if you ask your priest he'll be able to tell you what the rules are.

I just found this on the web....so i think it looks like for your faith it's a big fat no! Sorry!! https://www.catholicdoors.com/courses/godpar.htm

TO QUALIFY AS A GODPARENT

12. Not everyone qualifies to be a godparent. The Catholic Church provides a detailed guideline that must be obeyed. "To be admitted to undertake the office of sponsor, a person must:" (Canon 874.1)

12.1 "be appointed by the candidate for baptism, or by the parents or whoever stands in their place, or failing these, by the parish priest or the minister; to be appointed the person must be suitable for this role and have the intention of fulfilling it;" (Canon 874.1.1)

12.2 "be not less than sixteen years of age, unless a different age has been stipulated by the diocesan Bishop, or unless the parish priest or the minister considers that there is a just reason for an exception to be made;" (Canon 874.1.2)

12.3 "be a catholic who has been confirmed and has received the blessed Eucharist, and who lives a life of faith which befits the role to be undertaken;" (Canon 874.1.3)

12.4 "not labour under a canonical penalty, whether imposed or declared;" (Canon 874.1.4)

12.5 "not be either the father or the mother of the person to be baptised." (Canon 874.1.5)

12.6 "A baptised person who belongs to a non-catholic ecclesial community may be admitted only in company with a catholic sponsor, and then simply as a witness to the baptism." (Canon 874.2)

DISQUALIFYING AS A GODPARENT

13. What follows is a list of personal characteristics that disqualify a person as a godparent:

13.1 the person has no intention of fulfilling his obligations as a godparent.

13.2 the person is younger than the age that has been stipulated by the diocesan Bishop, usually age 16.

13.3 the person is not a Catholic.

13.4 the person has not received the Sacrament of Baptism in the Catholic faith.

13.5 the person has not received the Sacrament of Confirmation in the Catholic faith.

13.6 the person has not received the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist in the Catholic faith.

13.7 the person is not living his faith in accordance with the teachings of the Catholic Church. (Example: The person has not been at Mass for 2, 5 or 10 years. The person employs birth control methods.)

13.8 the person belongs to a religious Order (preventing him/her from making this commitment).

13.9 the person is the spouse of the one seeking Baptism.

13.10 the person is a biological or adoptive father or mother of the child.

13.11 the person has incurred an official excommunication or "latae sententiae," by the very commission of the offense. (Example: involved in one or more abortions.)

13.12 the person is a member of a condemned society.

13.13 the person is a public sinner. (Example: Prostitution, living common-law.)

13.14 the person is a heretic. "Heresy is the obstinate post- baptismal denial of some truth which must be believed with divine and catholic faith, or it is likewise an obstinate doubt concerning the same." (C.C.C. # 2089)

13.15 the person belongs to a schism. "Schism is the refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him." (C.C.C. # 2089)

13.16 the person is involved in a mix-marriage and believes his/her children should choose their own religion when they grow up.

13.17 the person believes that all religions are equal or that other religions are equal to the Catholic Church.

13.18 the person is involved in an invalid marriage. (Example: Justice of the Peace, marriage outside the Church.)

13.19 the person is not registered with a parish, not belonging to any specific faith community.

octwed07

I think in the catholic church, one of the godparents needs to be a catholic and the other one baptized in the christian faith (doesn't have to be catholic).. I think you can have multiple, or more than 2, and i'm assuming just as they are baptized in a christian faith you'd be fine...

ocho2002

I'm Catholic, DH is Baptist.  His friend wanted him to be the godfather and the church said no.

I don't even go to Church and I really don't care, but a godparent is the person who is suposed to guide your child in the catholic faith. A Jewish person can hardly do that.  Its not a way to confirm you're BFF's with someone.

Boizmom

I actually have my packet right in front of me about Baptism.  The Godparent must be Catholic who has been fully initiated meaning they themselves have been baptized, confirmed and has received first communion and are active in their faith.  So asking your best friend who is Catholic to serve as Godmother will work.  In regards to your BIL who is Jewish, technically he cannot be a Godparent in the eyes of the church.  However he can serve as an official witness - though to you he will be a Godfather.  Only one godparent is needed for a baptism though. 

 Hope this information helps.  We have been struggling as well with this.  My best friend who is not Catholic was our first choice for Godfather.  We have chosen though good friends of ours from church and they will be Godparents to all our children.  (We have a 4yo and a 2yo, we just started going back to church and our two oldest are being baptized next month.)

Kingston54

All good information, especially the last post from Boizmom - thank you.  Both DH and I will be fine with DH's brother just being a witness in the eyes of the church.  He will be the Godfather to us and the baby.  I hope we can find a church who is flexible and understands what we want to do.  Since only one is needed, then my friend who is Catholic should be fine, I hope

jlynns05

I'm Catholic and my husband (who is also Catholic) are Godparents to our nephew, and I think its appropriate to choose someone you hope will guide your child spiritually and otherwise through life. At the same time, they aren't going to ask you if you're Catholic. You don't need to know the secret handshake or say a rosary to prove you're Catholic. You show up at their baptism, hold the baby, light a candle, take some pictures, eat some cake, that's about it. So, if you and your husband are down with it, that's cool, go for it. They aren't going to call you out and make you (or your baby's Godfather) prove you're Catholic. My husband and I plan on having a non-catholic Godfather for our baby. Now, I know Catholics have some pretty strict (and insane) rules but just do what's right for you and your baby, we're Catholic so its not like we follow rules anyway!!

Kingston54

jlynns05,

I was wondering what the actual role of the Godparents at the Baptism is.  I didn't know if they had to say anything or like you said, just light a candle.  I haven't been to a Catholic Baptism in a while and I forget what it was like

swimrbride

I don't see why they would have a problem from it. Although I might not publicize the fact that he is Jewish, the point of Godparents is to help raise the child in the Catholic/Christian faith. But I know at the churches around here (we just moved and haven't actually found a church we like yet, guess we should get on that!) usually just require that one Godparent be a practicing Catholic and if they are married have been married in the Catholic church. FWIW, I absolutely hate this rule as we know ONE person other than my mom who falls into this. So my mom may end up being grandma and godmother.

amdicl

You should speak with your church.  When my daughter was baptized, they asked to see the Godparents' baptismal certificates and that is all.  BUT...I do know there are some more liberal Catholic churches, at least in my area, that will allow anyone to be a Godparent in a Catholic Baptism, without paper proof of their religon.  My grandfather was a Deacon and performed numerous baptisms and even mentioned that churches were getting more and more laid back with this.     

jlynns05

Kingston, we actually live out of state from where my siblings live, so the church had no way of knowing if we were catholic or not. A Godparents role during the actual baptism is more symbolic than anything. You stand there, you MAYBE hold the baby for a minute and then you put your hand on the mom and dads shoulders while the baby is actually blessed with holy water, you light a candle, you say that you'll help the parents raise the child in the Catholic faith and that's about it. I think the only time I talked to the priest was when he asked if I wanted my picture taken with him! Parents do all of the paperwork beforehand as the baby becomes a parish member (I believe) but the Godparents role is symbolic and up to the parents. I hope this helps and you don't get too much resistance! Good luck!