You know, all they had to do was ask their priest to write a letter stating they are actively practicing Catholics. It is really a simple process. Like the PP said, just mention it to the priest on the way out of Mass, and then stop by the church office during the week.

We have been members of parishes all over the country and it really isn't difficult to get this letter. The tithing records are really just a way to show regular church attendance for those who maybe go to larger parishes where it is easy to sit in the back, slip in an out, be anonymous, and not ever talk to the priest.

For us, I find that our frequent visits to the cry room with our disruptive kids make us very recognizable to the priests no matter what parish we are in, even though we contribute cash instead of using the tithing envelops. It has never been a problem.

It is absurd. Sorry, but it used to be easier. It used to be that all you had to do is prove that you were Catholic and swear that you would help raise the child in the Faith. Now you have to produce letters, take classes, provide documentation of tithing. The Church is hemorrhaging members and making it more and more difficult for current ones. It really is ridiculous.

OP here. I have no issue with going to church regularly, taking the class, filling out the forms etc. My church has now changed their rules twice regarding what they expect from the godparents, which is tough when you're dealing with busy people and have to have them run around three separate times to abide by the new rules. And we can't even get a baptism date on the books until all of this stuff is completed, which makes it hard for me for planning purposes with out of town grandparents. How hard would it to be to just let us reserve the date in advance, especially in light of the fact that they changed the requirements on us multiple times!!! Sigh..

What are they doing that's difficult? Making sure that the prospective godparents are active churchgoers makes perfect sense, IMO -- they're pledging their personal responsibility for your child's immortal soul!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How are they making it difficult? If you mean they require the Godparents and you to go to a class about the importance of Baptism and what that means as you raise your child in the Catholic faith, that seems reasonable to me. If you mean they are asking if you go to church, again reasonable because by Baptising your baby in the faith you are making a promise to raise them in the faith.

If you mean that you have to stand on your head while reciting the creed with the new wording while your spouse has to say five Hail Marys, okay unreasonable.

For our Godparents, they had to PROVE they had been to church regularly within the past 3 months by giving tidings. We had to wait until they "qualified." It was absurd, really.

I'm sorry I'm not sure I understand. You want to perform a religious ceremony for your child and the Church wants to ensure that the people involved in the religious service are GASP practicing the faith. That is not unreasonable. If the religious aspect of the Baptism means so little to you, why are you doing it? If they go to Church regularly all it involves is saying to the Priest on the way out the door, I've been asked to be a Godparent for my sister's child. Can you give me a letter saying that I'm active member of this Parish? Not unreasonable and not hard.

I felt that the requirements to attend the classes were more than reasonable, but had a hard time finding a Catholic friend who could produce a letter from their parish stating that they had given tithings within the past three months, even if they had been to church during that time. We wound up making my parents the godparents instead for that reason.

What is the trouble, OP? I've never had any difficulty, except maybe the time we had to take the baptism class again, even though it was our fifth time around. And we've dealt with parishes all across the country, because we're military.

Though, for our ninth, we just had my brother who is a priest baptize our daughter, so now we are spoiled

Absurd to make sure the Godparents were active? Why is that absurd?

Yeah, what do they want that is making it difficult? I felt the requirements were pretty reasonable.

Anonymous wrote:How are they making it difficult? If you mean they require the Godparents and you to go to a class about the importance of Baptism and what that means as you raise your child in the Catholic faith, that seems reasonable to me. If you mean they are asking if you go to church, again reasonable because by Baptising your baby in the faith you are making a promise to raise them in the faith.

If you mean that you have to stand on your head while reciting the creed with the new wording while your spouse has to say five Hail Marys, okay unreasonable.

For our Godparents, they had to PROVE they had been to church regularly within the past 3 months by giving tidings. We had to wait until they "qualified." It was absurd, really.

This really varies church to church. For our baptism, we just had a 1 hour meeting with the priest 2 days before it. God parents weren't even present (live far away and couldn't travel) so my dad acted as a proxy.

That sucks. We're getting DS baptized this weekend and it was no hassle at all. We just had to go a 1 hour class. Hope it works out for you!

How are they making it difficult? If you mean they require the Godparents and you to go to a class about the importance of Baptism and what that means as you raise your child in the Catholic faith, that seems reasonable to me. If you mean they are asking if you go to church, again reasonable because by Baptising your baby in the faith you are making a promise to raise them in the faith.

If you mean that you have to stand on your head while reciting the creed with the new wording while your spouse has to say five Hail Marys, okay unreasonable.

Yeah, that sounds annoying. I'm not Catholic but DH is and I will never forget going to Christmas Mass with him and the Priest going ON and ON about the churchgoers who only show up twice a year and how they should be ashamed of themselves. It didn't seem like a good way to encourage people to come more.

When we got married, it was one thing after the other. Now we have a newborn and I'm trying to have her baptized. THey make this whole process SO. UNBELIEVABLY. DIFFICULT. I am really on the verge of just saying screw it. I don't understand why they are doing this? Shouldn't they want to encourage young adults to remain active in the Church/introduce the next generation to Catholicism? If that's their intent, they are seriously going about it the WRONG way.