A Catholic diocese in Sicily has imposed a three-year ban on godparents taking part in baptisms, fearing the practice strengthens mob ties and is losing its spiritual significance. “It’s an experiment,” Msgr. Salvatore Genchi, the vicar general of Catania, told The New York Times. The change has caused plenty of agita, with some families choosing to get their babies baptized in a neighboring city that still allows godparents or selecting godparents outside the confines of the church. “For them it might be abolished,” Marco Calderone, father of a 6-month-old said. “Not for us.”
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