Vatican Says Trans People Can Be Baptized
dubia, or questions regarding Catholic Church doctrine, submitted by Brazilian Bishop Jose Negri of Santo Amaro, inquiring about LGBTQ people and their participation in holy sacraments.The church’s Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith said that transgender people may be baptized, under certain conditions, and as long as there is “no risk of causing a public scandal or disorientation among the faithful.”The doctrinal office also said that “transsexuals,” as it refers to transgender people, could serve as godparents at a baptism at the discretion of a local priest, or as witnesses at a Church wedding — noting that there is no prohibition in current canonical legislation — but warned that diocesan priests should exercise “pastoral prudence” in allowing this participation.The answers to the dubia were signed by the department’s head, Argentine Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, and approved by Pope Francis on Oct.
31, according to Reuters. They were posted on the department’s website on November 8. Negri also sought guidance on whether a same-sex couple who had adopted a child or had used a surrogate mother to carry the child to term could have that child baptized in a Catholic ceremony.In response, the doctrinal office said that for a child of a same-sex couple to be baptized, there had to be “a well-founded hope that it would be educated in the Catholic religion.”The Vatican also offered a more nuanced response to a question about whether a person in a same-sex relationship could serve as a godparent at a Church baptism, saying that the person in question had to “lead a life that conforms to the faith” and could not be involved in a “marital style” relationship.
