Comments on: Why Should a Spouse Not Serve as a Sponsor? http://rciablog.com/2009/07/why-should-a-spouse-not-serve-as-a-sponsor/ A Free Tool Provided by the Association for Catechumenal Ministry Thu, 10 May 2012 15:50:11 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Gilbert Marquez http://rciablog.com/2009/07/why-should-a-spouse-not-serve-as-a-sponsor/comment-page-1/#comment-896 Gilbert Marquez Sat, 15 Oct 2011 18:50:01 +0000 http://rciablog.com/?p=423#comment-896 I really appreciate this article. It recognizes that canonically nothing prohibits spouses being the sponsor, yet pastorally the Christian Initiation team needs to find parish sponsors for a couple of reasons mentioned in the article as well as : 1) it expands the catechumen/candidate's mind about the meaning of church community 2) it ensures that the catechumen/candidate's process is one that can be free of "outer forces" that would hinder an open-question process. What I have noticed is that when you have candidates that are very ready for being in Full Communion with the Church, and their spouse is already Catholic, that spouse would be a fine candidate for the Christian Initiation process....but just know that the candidate would lose the feeling of the bigger church community by not having a parish sponsor. I really appreciate this article. It recognizes that canonically nothing prohibits spouses being the sponsor, yet pastorally the Christian Initiation team needs to find parish sponsors for a couple of reasons mentioned in the article as well as :

1) it expands the catechumen/candidate’s mind about the meaning of church community
2) it ensures that the catechumen/candidate’s process is one that can be free of “outer forces” that would hinder an open-question process.

What I have noticed is that when you have candidates that are very ready for being in Full Communion with the Church, and their spouse is already Catholic, that spouse would be a fine candidate for the Christian Initiation process….but just know that the candidate would lose the feeling of the bigger church community by not having a parish sponsor.

]]> By: Bill Grist http://rciablog.com/2009/07/why-should-a-spouse-not-serve-as-a-sponsor/comment-page-1/#comment-633 Bill Grist Thu, 26 Aug 2010 15:34:52 +0000 http://rciablog.com/?p=423#comment-633 Your comments were very interesting but we must face the idea that we live in the real world. Most spouses who convert are doing so for their spouse or their children. The "family" pressure to convert or not convert is already present. The irony in our program is that the biggest opportunity Spouse Sponsors present is their lack of knowledge of the whys and wherefores of the Church. Without really knowing it, they have passed misinformation to their wife or husband. Through prayer and an open dialog with them, we try reduce any conflicts that may occur. Your comments were very interesting but we must face the idea that we live in the real world. Most spouses who convert are doing so for their spouse or their children. The “family” pressure to convert or not convert is already present. The irony in our program is that the biggest opportunity Spouse Sponsors present is their lack of knowledge of the whys and wherefores of the Church. Without really knowing it, they have passed misinformation to their wife or husband.
Through prayer and an open dialog with them, we try reduce any conflicts that may occur.

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