PONTREMOLI, Italy (ChurchMilitant.com) – A bishop in Tuscany is temporarily banning the appointment of godparents at baptism and sponsors at confirmation.
Bp. Mario Vaccari
In a Dec. 3 decree, Bp. Mario Vaccari declared the roles of godparent and sponsor are suspended on an experimental basis in his diocese beginning Jan. 7, 2024.
The bishop noted the roles had lost their spiritual significance, saying the way many families pick the godparents or sponsor for their children has more do to with “emotional ties or good social relationships” than with forming children in the Faith.
Bishop Vaccari is head of the Tuscan diocese of Massa Carrara-Pontremoli. A Franciscan in the Order of Friars Minor, Vaccari was appointed and consecrated bishop of the diocese in 2022.
Similar Crackdowns
His recent decree follows in the footsteps of similar decisions made by other Italian bishops in recent years.
In July 2020, Bp. Michele Fusco announced a suspension of the office of godparents in his diocese of Sulmona-Valva in central Italy. In his decree, he said of godmothers and godfathers, “Their presence in the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation often results in a sort of formal commitment, in which the dimension of faith remains scarcely visible.”
In Sicily, Abp. Salvatore Gristina, who heads the archdiocese of Catania, banned the practice for three years starting in 2021, noting it had turned into a “social custom in which the dimension of faith is hardly visible.” Reporting at the time suggested it was partly due to the role of godfather being abused by families connected to the Mafia.
In March this year, a group of three dioceses in southern Italy announced godparents and confirmation sponsors were canceled, effective April 9 (Easter Sunday). Bishop Giacomo Cirulli, head of all three dioceses, noted, “In today’s socio-ecclesial context, the office of godfathers and godmothers, for the most part, has lost its original value.”