Christening

Agree
All of ours are on the cert too
They are noted as godparents as well

Maybe there wasnt a box for witness in those days ?.

Yes
I’m aware of that I’m a Catholic
That doesn’t, however, stop all of them being Godparents in their eyes to our kids. After all if they’re not Catholic the rules of the RC church are irrelevant to them. The Catholic godparent looks after all that

You’ve not tagged me but this is relevant to what I posted.

When DD1 was baptised, she had 2 catholic godparents and 1 witness. We knew there would be a distinction but all were treated equally on the day. They were all on the certificate too. Maybe we got lucky. Her “witness” has been the most invested godparent.

DD2 - same set up with godparents but the witness was not mentioned or put on the certificate. Same church but different priest. He was aware before hand and said it wasn’t an issue. We were blindsided on the day. Another time where her “witness” is the most present in her life.

That all influenced our decision not to baptise DS as we didn’t want to choose random Catholics just for the sake of it. We’ve chosen godparents we know will engage with him because they’ve proven they care for our children already with no title necessary.

The Catholic institution of godparenthood - A godparent must normally be an appropriate person, at least sixteen years of age, a confirmed Catholic who has received the Eucharist, not under any canonical penalty, and may not be the parent of the child. Someone who belongs to another Christian church cannot become a godparent but can be a 'witness' in conjunction with a Catholic sponsor. A witness does not have any religious role recognized by the Church.

From Code of Canon Law.

Only Catholics can be official godparents in Catholic baptisms though? Other Christians can be official witnesses, not official godparents, and there must be at least one godparent. The max number of official godparents you can have is two, one of each sex.

So according to the church your children have one official godparent each @DrPrunesqualer? And the third maybe a witness too? The people the family consider to be godparents can be different and often is as in your case. But these terms do have meaning within the Catholic Church and baptism is a religious ceremony.

That’s not true
We have two atheists as godparents to our Catholic children
We just had to ensure at least one is Catholic
So we have three children
Two of them have couples which are atheists so the6 have a third godparent each that’s a Catholic
The other has one CofE and a Catholic

Tell your dp he is wrong
You can add your non Catholic choices on to his Catholic

and No
I wouldn’t accept the choice of invites is just your dps. They are your kids too and I think you are being marvellous accepting his choice of religion for your child 💐

My eldest two children were baptised because it was important to DH’s family. They’re Catholic too but DH is agnostic at best. I am atheist, as is most of my family. I was still allowed an equal say in the guest list and godparents. We also had one non-Catholic godparent for each daughter - not an issue for DD1 but they didn’t mention that godparent during the service for DD2 which I was furious about. Still am.

Your DP is being a twat! You can invite who you like and he can invite who he likes.

Oh, I totally understand your upset about not being able to have your family at the christening when his will be. (My family live on a different continent to me so couldn't attend my kids' christenings anyway, but I can't imagine that they would have any desire to do so anyway, not being religious themselves.) That's a different point though,

But as far as godparents go, if you're atheist surely it doesn't matter to you who they are. I don't see why you wouldn't be happy for him to make the decision about that. When my kids were baptized I didn't think it was any of my business who the godparents were and I couldn't have cared less.

Unfortunately I don't know enough about Judaism to know anything about how the concept of godparents is applied within the Jewish faith.

But although I am atheist I have Christian friends and family and that's not what it means at all! Someone you designate to take care of your child in the event of your death is their guardian, and it's a legal matter, nothing to do with religion.

A godparent (in Christianity) is someone who promises to help teach the child about the religion and guide them in their faith. As such, it makes no sense for an atheist to be a godparent.

I am a proud aunt and have children of friends who I'm close to. I certainly try and be a role model for them and guide them where appropriate to be good caring people. But I am not, and could never be, someone's godparent.

They actually can’t!

But I agree a party is for everyone and everyone OP wants to invite should be able to attend the christening. Just inviting mostly his family is nonsense.

He is being ridiculous. Maybe let him organise the ceremony and you take responsibility for the party, but this is an occasion for your baby and you can have whoever you want there. If he makes a fuss tell him you are organising a naming ceremony instead, and he can attend or not as he pleases.

Ask him, what would Jesus do.
He is being very unChristian.

He is being unnecessarily nasty about this . The Catholic Church and the priest has no objections to non Catholic, atheists included attending a christening. And a party is for everyone . Sausage rolls can be enjoyed by people of all faiths .

Don't tell him that.

Tell him you are overruling him.

Great excuse for a meet up, yanbu, @BB333! Weddings, christenings, funerals, it’s time for family get togethers, imo. If I wasn’t invited to a baptism, I’d be wondering if I’d upset the parents. Given you’re compromising by agreeing to him wanting your child baptised, plus your dad is paying, he can shove it, frankly.

Not all those godparents will be listed as such on the baptismal cert though.

What the church considers an official godparent and what a family considers a godparent can be a bit different sometimes.

Equally if you have family members travelling 5 hours to come to the christening it’s a long way to just turn up to church and then go home or back to a hotel. So it will need sorting before hand

I've just had a thought. Why not have your DP organise the christening with just immediate family and the God parents and you can organise a naming ceremony for all the family and friends to attend that your Dad pays for.

It's been really clear to me what you meant in all your posts

Same here. Also there is at least one Vicar in the Roman Catholic Church. His name is Leo XIV.

They key words are 'they are going to support the parents to.....' not that they are going to do it themselves.
Both my girls are baptised Catholic
DD1 - 2 Catholic godparents, 1 CoE, 1 atheist
DD2 - 2 Catholic godparents, 1 CoE, 1 'I have no idea'

DH is Catholic, I an CoE

Primarily we picked people whose broad values aligned with our own, who we felt would be supportive, positive role models, not by their religion.

My girls are both baptised Catholic. Only 1 godparent has to be a confirmed Catholic. Others can be any religion or none, as long as they promise to 'not lead them off the Christian path' we were told.

Thanks, it happens a lot on here.

If your family aren't going, your dad isn't paying

I would suggest that you get hold of the Order of Service, if only to check what obligations the parents are agreeing to take on, let alone godparents.
You have, on your own admission, a fairly sketchy knowledge of what being a practising Catholic entails; fair enough, you're an atheist, not your concern.
Who will be teaching the little one their first prayers? Looking forward a few years, training up for First Confession, First Holy Communion, confirmation? If your DP is prepared to undertake these responsibilities, fair enough, but himself has avoided the Holy Sacrament of marriage, and his attendance at Sunday Mass can be a bit dependent on the previous Saturday, so the phrase "pick and mix" would seem to apply.
Is he going to take on letting the uninvited ones know that they are not expected to come?