VATICAN CITY, Nov 8 (Reuters) – Transgender folks could be godparents at Roman Catholic baptisms, witnesses at spiritual weddings and obtain baptism themselves, the Vatican’s doctrinal workplace mentioned on Wednesday, responding to questions from a bishop.
The division, referred to as the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Religion, was imprecise nevertheless, in response to a query of whether or not a same-sex couple may have a Church baptism for an adopted baby or one obtained by means of a surrogate mom.
Bishop Jose Negri of Santo Amaro in Brazil despatched the doctrinal workplace six questions in July relating to LGBT folks and their participation within the sacraments of baptism and matrimony.
The three pages of questions and solutions had been signed by the division’s head, Argentine Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, and authorised by Pope Francis on Oct. 31. They had been posted on the division’s web site on Wednesday utilizing the Italian phrase for “transsexuals”.
Francis, 86, has tried to make the Church extra welcoming to the LGBT neighborhood with out altering Church teachings, together with one saying that same-sex attraction just isn’t sinful however same-sex acts are.
In response to a query of whether or not transgender folks could be baptized, the doctrinal workplace mentioned they might with some circumstances and so long as there may be “no threat of inflicting a public scandal or disorientation among the many trustworthy”.
It mentioned transgender folks may very well be godparents at a baptism on the discretion of the native priest in addition to a witness at a Church marriage ceremony, however the native priest ought to train “pastoral prudence” in his determination.
“This is a vital step ahead within the Church seeing transgender folks not solely as folks (in a Church the place some say they don’t actually exist) however as Catholics,” Father James Martin, a distinguished Jesuit priest and supporter of LGBT rights within the Church, mentioned on X, previously referred to as Twitter.
Francis has met with transgender folks and in July, he informed a transgender individual: “Even when we’re sinners, he (God) attracts close to to assist us. The Lord loves us as we’re, that is God’s loopy love.”
Learn Extra: Transgender folks could be baptized Catholic, function godparents, Vatican says
