Catholic transgenders welcomed by the Vatican for baptism and more

In a declaration heralded as a “major step for trans inclusion,” the Vatican’s doctrinal office has stated that transgender persons can, under some conditions, be baptized in the Catholic church and act as godparents.

Transgender people “may receive baptism under the conditions as other faithful,” the office stated in a letter authorized by Pope Francis last month and released on Wednesday. This is despite having had hormone therapy and sex-reassignment surgery.

There was a catch to the decision. According to the statement, “if there are no situations in which there is a risk of generating a public scandal or confusion among the faithful,” then such baptisms were permitted.

The text was released in response to six inquiries received in July from a Brazilian bishop concerning the involvement of LGBTQ+ individuals in marriages and christenings. It stated that local priests, who should use “pastoral prudence” to make sure there is no “risk of scandal” or “undue legitimization in the educational sphere of the church community,” may choose to designate transgender individuals as godfathers or godmothers.

Additionally, the text said that transgender persons might be witnesses at church weddings for whatever reason.

According to Francis DeBernardo of the US-based New Ways Ministry, the announcement—which seemed to overturn a 2015 ruling—stood in stark contrast to the several US dioceses that have implemented laws restricting Catholics who identify as LGBTQ+.

DeBernardo, whose ministry has long advocated for wider acceptance in the church, told the Associated Press, “It is big and good news.” “It’s a significant step toward trans inclusion.”

He saw it as evidence that the pope and other prominent church figures do not consider gender identification to be a practical obstacle to partaking in Catholic sacraments. “Instead of using these guidelines to continue old restrictions, we hope that church leaders will apply them by following Pope Francis’s example of an extravagant welcome,” the statement continued.

Despite church rules that forbid same-sex marriage and sexual activity, the LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Glaad described the move as part of a larger effort by the pope to make the church more open to LGBTQ+ persons.

According to a statement from Glaad’s Sarah Kate Ellis, “Pope Francis is continuing to break down barriers that have kept LGBTQ Catholics away from full participation as members of the Roman Catholic church and is instead calling on global leaders to create welcoming spaces for LGBTQ people.”

The pope’s remarks from an encounter with an Italian in their early 20s who expressed conflict between their Catholic religion and transgender identity were made public by the Vatican in July.

“The Lord always walks with us,” Francis retorted. He comes near to us to assist us even though we are sinners. God’s wild love is that the Lord accepts us just as we are.

A few months later, he expressed his opinion that marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman, but he also hinted that there could be methods to bless same-sex unions.

In response to the question of whether a same-sex couple could baptize an adopted kid or a child born through surrogacy, the document released on Wednesday was ambiguous, stating that there had to be a “a well-founded hope that the child would be educated in the Catholic religion.”

Regarding the topic of whether someone in a same-sex partnership may be a godparent, it provided a similarly complex response, stating that the individual had to “lead a life that conforms to the faith.”

Nevertheless, many who have long fought for the rights of LGBTQ+ persons in the church enthusiastically embraced the text. Prominent Jesuit priest Father James Martin posted on social media, saying, “This is an important step forward in the church seeing transgender people not only as people (in a church where some say they don’t really exist) but as Catholics.”

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