Godfather.... erm, Godmother... Godparent?

The selection by parents of godparents has become a very debased procedure in the Church in this country, as far as I can observe.
In what I take, (from movies and tv,) to be the Anglican/British understanding, godparents are chosen as a way to honor ones friend or relative, and insure the receipt of sterling baby mugs, so really, the more the merrier, let's get some swag!
And that is the way far too many Catholics look on the proceedings in this country.
Is the father who seeks to rope his baptised Catholic but now vaguely agnostic drinking buddy into the role, or the Mom who asks her best friend, oh, really, you're Jewish? at much remove from the poor souls in this story, when it gets right down to it?

Alex Salinas is 21 years old. [S]He was assigned [observed to be] female at birth, but is now living as his authentic self as a man. [S]He is a "firm believer" and wants to be a godparent at his her nephew's baptism but the diocese of Cadiz and Ceuta is standing in his her way. According to them, [s]he is not a "suitable" person because of the life [s]he leads, a life not "congruent with faith.”
However, they do not find their argument to be discriminatory.The diocese says that. in responding to the petition they received from Salinas to be a godparent at the baptism, the priest maintained a "cordial conversation" with him [her], indicating that [s]he must fulfill the requisites stated in the Code of Canon Law which requires that any godfather or godmother at a baptism "be Catholic, be confirmed, have received the holy sacrament of the Eucharist and, at the same time, live a life congruent with faith and the mission they are assuming."
The statement insists that in the "long chat that protected the feelings of the applicant, the priest encouraged him [her] to live congruently with faith" and that, despite not being a godparent at the baptism, [s] he could participate in some way as a "spiritual godparent," and able to encourage and help his her nephew in his life of faith....

"To the church, I am still a woman, even though my documents of identification have changed," explained Alex Salinas, who wants the diocese to reconsider their decision, which [s]he took "as a kick in the stomach" because he is a "firm believer."
Salinas, who since February of last year has had the I.D. of a man and is on a waiting list for a gender confirmation surgery, [well, there's some Newspeak, for you, "gender CONFIRMATION surgery"?] does not understand the Church's refusal ...
The young man, who identifies as Catholic, said at first the parish of San Fernando de Cadiz did not object to him being a godparent in the religious ceremony.

However, upon asking the diocese for documentation for the baptism, the parish told him he could not carry out the role.
The young [wo]man then appealed to other parishes in the town, but found all of them greeted him [her] with the same response.

"Identifies as" is rapidly becoming the most over-used and finally, meaningless phrase in the language.
Is a person who does not believe what the Church says, or do as the Church asks, or follow what the Church teaches, really "Catholic" in any meaningful sense, regardless of how he "identifies"?

I now identify as someone in want of another cup of coffee, so I shall make an end to this....