MASSA, Italy (LifeSiteNews) — An Italian bishop suspended the Catholic Church’s ancient practice of having godparents in Baptism and Confirmation, stating that the move is to combat the practice of choosing godparents based on “emotional” or “social” ties rather than ability for the spiritual duties of the role.
In a decree issued December 3, Bishop Mario Vaccari of Italy’s Diocese of Massa Carrara-Pontremoli outlined new measures for the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, which would take effect January 7, 2024.
Citing a change in “social and religious context of the contemporary world,” Vaccari stated the cultural understanding of the role of godparents in Baptism and Confirmation has changed.
“Often, emotional ties or social relations take over in the choice of the persons” asked to be godparents, he wrote, with the role being reduced to “a simple liturgical presence.”
Such a reality leads to godparents who may be in “open contradiction” with the stipulations of the Catholic Church for the role and duty of a godparent.
As such, the 64-year-old bishop announced that he had decided to temporarily suspend the “office of Godfather and Godmother in the Baptism of children, Confirmation of adolescents and adults, and in the Christian Initiation of Adults.”
The measures will be in place for an experimental period of three years, due to terminate on January 11, 2026.
Vaccari ordered that there were to be no exceptions to his decree, even if there were individuals who “meet all the requirements” set out for the role of a godparent.
The bishop added that godparents are not by law an essential part of the sacraments of Baptism or Confirmation.
He stated that the decree – issued in light of the respective liturgical texts and Canon Laws – was issued with an aim to find a way to “study the most suitable forms for restoring to this institution the value and strength with which the Church conceived and instituted it, and at the same time to restore new impetus to sacramental praxis.”
Additionally, Vaccari outlined that various members of the diocesan curia must, during the experimental three years, “study possible new forms of accompaniment that recall and recover the true ecclesial meaning of the office of godfather and godmother.”
Indeed, the bishop’s move is not unprecedented in Italy: In October 2021, the Diocese of Catania (Sicily) issued a three-year ban; the Diocese of Sulmona-Valva banned godparents in July 2023 after its own three-year trial; the grouping of three dioceses of Teano-Calvi, Alife-Caiazzo and Sessa Aurunca in Southern Italy also began a three-year trial ban. All cited the same reasons as Vaccari did.
The Catholic Church teaches that the role of a godparent is not merely symbolic but carries a very real duty. The catechism states that:
For the grace of Baptism to unfold, the parents’ help is important. So too is the role of the godfather and godmother, who must be firm believers, able and ready to help the newly baptized – child or adult on the road of Christian life. Their task is a truly ecclesial function (officium). The whole ecclesial community bears some responsibility for the development and safeguarding of the grace given at Baptism. (Paragraph 1255)
The Code of Canon Law 872 stipulates that “[i]nsofar as possible, a person to be baptized is to be given a sponsor who assists an adult in Christian initiation or together with the parents presents an infant for baptism.”
“A sponsor also helps the baptized person to lead a Christian life in keeping with baptism and to fulfill faithfully the obligations inherent in it,” the same Canon continues.
Canon 874 outlines the necessary qualities of a sponsor, including being “a Catholic who has been confirmed and has already received the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist and who leads a life of faith in keeping with the function to be taken on.”
However, in recent weeks, such canons have appeared to be waived aside by new guidance from the Cardinal prefect of the Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Doctrine of the Faith, Victor Manuel Fernández.
READ: Pope Francis says ‘trans’ people can be godparents, homosexual ‘parents’ can have children baptized
On November 8, the cardinal published a papally approved dubia response attesting that “transgender” individuals can be godparents for the sacrament of Baptism, as well as allowing homosexual “parents” to have their children baptized. Asked if transgender individuals could act as godparents at Baptism, he replied in the affirmative, though outlining caveats. His full reply was as follows:
Under certain conditions, an adult transsexual who had also undergone hormone treatment and sex reassignment surgery may be admitted to the task of godfather or godmother.
However, since this task does not constitute a right, pastoral prudence demands that it should not be allowed if there is a danger of scandal, undue legitimization or disorientation in the educational sphere of the church community.
In a January 2000 exposition on the role of godparents in an increasingly secular society, Father William Saunders of the Diocese of Arlington wrote how “parents need to find good practicing Catholics for godparents.”
Saunders added that “godparents serve a special role in the life of the baptized person. Therefore, each parent should choose a godparent not just because of a blood relationship or friendship; rather, a godparent should be a trustworthy witness of the faith who will help the godchild attain salvation.”