PROBLEMS WITH GODPARENTS
Dear Friends:

Sister Anthony Therese pointed out to me a column by Amy Dickinson in Newsday a week or so ago. I was amazed because usually when the secular press Writes about Catholic religious practice they are misinformed or critical. Often enough, they just don’t get it! In this particular column, Amy Dickinson proved that she understood Catholic teaching and she even presented the Church in a favorable light. I applaud and congratulate her. It may be that in the future she and I will not always be in agreement, but right now she has done a distinct service to the Church and her readers.

Here’s what happened. A woman wrote who was very annoyed with the Catholic Church. As in many cases, she had problems with the Church before (she had previously married outside the Church) and now she was upset because her parish priest was insisting that the godparents for her child’s baptism be practicing Catholics. Parenthetically, I must give the woman credit because she did eventually marry her husband in front of a priest. But she was annoyed that she could not have the godparents she wanted. Actually, she had a misunderstanding of the role of godparent and had the idea that the role of the godparent was quite different from what it is. She failed to realize that a godparent is expected to be a person who believes and professes and lives the Catholic faith. The Catholic Church is very reasonable and does allow a baptized non-Catholic to serve as a Christian witness along with a Catholic godparent.

The problem was that the godparents the woman wanted were not Catholics and, if I recall correctly, were not even baptized themselves. The woman was writing Amy Dickinson to see if she should leave the Catholic Church and find some other church that would accommodate her. Ms. Dickinson explained very clearly that the Catholic Church is a religion and not a Burger King. You can’t have it your way all the time. There is a vast difference between a fast food restaurant and the Church founded by Jesus Christ. One exists to sell burgers any way you want and the other exists to preach the Gospel and bring the gift of eternal salvation to the world.

I personally believe that far too many priests, religious education directors and even some religious have too many rules that are of their own creation and are additions to what the Church asks. These rules sometimes keep people from Christ. The intention is well-meaning; but the results can be disastrous. People leave the Church. In the case of the woman in the column in Newsday, however, the priest was entirely right. He was only trying to do what was best for the child to be baptized. No child should be cheated by having godparents who don’t really love Jesus Christ and His Church.

Again, congratulations to Amy Dickinson! She gave some terrific advice. I couldn’t have done better myself

In Jesus and Mary,

Monsignor James M. McDonald