A new ruling by the Vatican’s doctrine department has opened the door to Catholic baptism of transgender people and babies of same-sex couples.
Transgender believers can be baptized in the Catholic Church if it does not cause scandal or “confusion”, the Vatican said on Wednesday last week, clarifying a sensitive area of doctrine. The Office of the Doctrine of the Faith also raised no objections to the baptism of children of same-sex couples adopted or born through surrogacy. The comments were made in a document written on October 31 but only now published. The document is a response to questions posed by a Brazilian bishop
It was endorsed by Pope Francis, who has repeatedly said the Church must be open to all, including LGBTQ believers.
However, he made it clear that he considered homosexuality to be “a sin, like any sexual act outside of marriage”. Catholic teaching defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman for the purpose of producing children. In the document, the Holy See said that transgender believers “can receive baptism under the same conditions as other believers, if there is no situation in which there is a risk of generating public scandal or uncertainty among the faithful.” This applies to someone who has had hormone treatment and/or gender reassignment surgery, the release said. Asked whether a same-sex couple could be considered the parents of a child to be baptized, the Vatican said there should only be a “well-founded hope” that the child would be educated in the Catholic religion.
In the document, the Holy See said that transgender believers “can receive baptism under the same conditions as other believers, if there is no situation in which there is a risk of generating public scandal or uncertainty among the faithful.” This applies to someone who has had hormone treatment and/or gender reassignment surgery, the release said.
Asked whether a same-sex couple could be considered the parents of a child to be baptized, the Vatican said there should only be a “well-founded hope” that the child would be educated in the Catholic religion.
