Monsignor Giuseppe Fiorini Morosini, archbishop of Reggio Calabria, spoke with Pope Francis about the proposal last weekend while he was in Rome.

In a statement Monday, he said the pontiff asked the bishops of Calabria to discuss the idea and send him a written proposal.

Godparents are named when a baby is baptized and they promise to help raise the child in the Catholic faith.

Fiorini Morosini has argued that, in Calabria at least, godparents are less theological role models than "points of reference" and mob friends.