siren0119
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2018
No, being a godparent is not a legal thing. It is something for the Catholic faith. I always thought the role of a godparent is to see that the child is raised in the Catholic faith. They are supposed to be practicing Catholics who will be role models to the child. They would be present at important Catholic events such as the baptism, Confirmation, wedding etc.
I don't believe it has anything to do with raising the children in the event of the parents death. That would be called a legal guardian and a lawyer would have to draw up a document for all parties to sign. Nothing to do with the church. At least that's what I always thought.
I think a PP mentioned it's not just a Catholic thing, but yeah it's *meant* to be a way to appoint people to be spiritual mentors for a child. Some christian churches have the entire congregation make a statement of commitment to a child being dedicated that is functionally the same as a Godparent.
It's not out of the question that a person appointed as a godparent might ALSO be legally designated as a child's guardian if anything happens to the parents, but that's more coincidental and due to the fact that godparents are often chosen because they are trusted and close with the parents. Being a Godparent on its own isn't a legally binding arrangement in any way.