Now this is very timely! I heard this news last night over at Radio Veritas.
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Manila, August 20, 2010—A CBCP official said parents should choose well people who will stand as godparents for their child’s baptism and confirmation as they have responsibility to teach the child the tenets of the Catholic faith. [Can I hear an Amen for this?]
Fr. Melvin Castro, executive secretary of the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Family and Life said the Catholic Church encourages [why not impose it?] parents to look for baptismal and confirmation sponsors among practicing Catholics.
It is so because baptismal and confirmation sponsors must see to it the child grows according to Catholic teachings. [See the reason why it must be imposed and not encouraged?]
Castro explained that non-Catholics are discouraged to act as godparents for baptism and confirmation because of the sponsors’ duty to teach and guide the young spiritually. [See the reason why it must...Ok I know I write like a broken record but you see the point.]
He said that while the Catholic Church encourages two baptismal and confirmation sponsors, the current practice in the country is the opposite as parents tend to get more sponsors for various reasons.
“This phenomenon in the country seems difficult to correct because politicians and other influential persons get to be part of the parents’ network,” Castro explained. [Actually it has been a practice since even during the Spanish colonial era, a way for the powerful, rich and elite to stick to their own kind and strengthen their bonds of "friendship". Ahh... the sound of it!]
He said the Code of Canon Law mentions only two individuals, a male and female should be baptismal sponsors and whenever a confirmation would take place, the same sponsors are even encouraged to stand witnesses.
“The downside of having too many baptismal sponsors is the possibility that friendship is being taken into consideration rather than the actual roles baptismal and confirmation sponsors play,” the priest said. (Melo M. Acuna)
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I agree. But as a skeptic...
Like so many things written and published about laws and norms, when do we see the light of day that these gets actually enforced?
The blog of a group of Filipino Catholics and their frank commentary on anything that affects their lives as a citizen of the Philippines and as a Roman Catholics.
Godparents by custom act as another set of TRUE parents and have the added role of taking care of the spiritual needs of the child. They have to make sure the welfare of the child is above all concerns.
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