Transsexual people can obtain baptism within the Roman Catholic Church “if there are no situations in which there is a risk of generating public scandal,” in line with a brand new Vatican coverage assertion.
Pope Francis and Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández introduced the coverage in an Oct. 31 letter to Bishop José Negri of Santo Amaro, Brazil. The church’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, headed by Cardinal Fernández, posted the doc Wednesday on its web site.
The letter was printed in Italian. The Washington Times used machine translation for quotes on this report.
Bishop Negri had despatched inquiries to Rome on July 14 “regarding the possible participation in the sacraments of baptism and marriage by transsexual and homo-affective” individuals.
“There is nothing in current universal law that prohibits a transsexual from being a witness to a wedding,” the doc states. Cohabiting homosexuals additionally might be permitted to be wedding ceremony witnesses, in line with the doc.
However, there isn’t any proper for anybody to be a godparent at a baptism, the doc states. Under sure situations an grownup transsexual might be admitted to the position, however “pastoral prudence requires that it not be permitted if there is a risk of scandal … undue legitimation or disorientation” in a congregation.
Gays dwelling collectively in a “stable and declared … relationship, well known by the community” ought to in all probability not be godparents however, fairly, function witnesses, the doc states.
The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit who has a ministry for LGBTQ people, mentioned on X that the brand new doc marks “an historic step forward in the church’s relationship with transgender persons.”
“In some dioceses, they were prevented from doing so by local pastors. As such, 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,” mentioned Father Martin, who’s near the pope.
