Vatican says transgender people can be baptized and become godparents — but with caveats

The Vatican announced Wednesday that transgender people can be baptized and become godparents under certain conditions, as well as serve as witnesses to church weddings. The statement, which was written in Portuguese, was made in response to a Brazilian bishop who asked the Vatican about the church's stance on transgender people within its congregations. 

The Vatican's document stated that transgender people, including those who have received hormone replacement therapy or sex reassignment surgery, can be baptized "under the same conditions as other believers," but only if there is no "risk of generating a public scandal or disorientation among the faithful." But the document did not clarify what a public scandal would entail.

Additionally, the statement allows for transgender "children and adolescents" to be baptized as well, and added that there is no reason why transgender people cannot serve as witnesses at weddings. The document also specifies that a same-sex couple would be able to baptize a child who had been adopted or born via surrogate providing there is "a well-founded hope that he or she will be educated in the Catholic religion."

"The Vatican's affirmation that transgender people should be welcomed in the church's sacramental life signals Pope Francis' desire for a pastorally-focused approach to LGBTQ+ issues is taking hold," Francis DeBernardo — executive director at New Ways Ministry, a Catholic outreach that aims to build bridges between the Catholic Church and the LGBTQ+ community — wrote in an editorial Thursday.  

As for whether transgender people can be godparents, the Church was again vague — saying it would allow transgender people to fill these roles, again provided there was no danger of, again, what it termed a "scandal." 

The church said it leaves the decision up to "pastoral prudence," but without providing specifics, clarifying that "such a function does not constitute a right" in the eyes of the church.

The lack of clarity in the document was of concern to DeBernardo, who wrote Thursday that "if church leaders do not employ pastoral prudence with this guideline, it could be used by other officials to establish other policies which would exclude such people from other areas of church life."

"We hope that church leaders will apply these guidelines by following Pope Francis' example of extravagant welcome, rather than using them to continue old restrictions," DeBernardo added.

The church document was signed by Argentine Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, head of the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith, and was subsequently approved by Pope Francis last month, reported Reuters.

Earlier this year, Pope Francis and protestant leaders from England and Scotland denounced the criminalization of homosexuality, calling laws that discriminate against LGBTQ+ people both a "sin" and an "injustice." 

"People with homosexual tendencies are children of God," said the pope in February. "God loves them, God is with them."

In January of this year, the pope said in an interview with the Associated Press that while homosexuality itself "is not a crime," same-sex sexual relations are a "sin." He also made a point of saying that parents of LGBTQ+ children should not "condemn" them. 

This came as the Church of England outlined proposals that would refuse same-sex marriages in its churches, saying that it would continue to teach that marriage is between "one man and one woman for life." The decision was reached after five years of debate.

— Translation assistance provided by Frederico Levy.

In:
• Pope Francis
• Religion
• Vatican City
• Transgender
• LGBTQ+
• Catholic Church

C Mandler

C Mandler is a social media producer and trending topics writer for CBS News, focusing on American politics and LGBTQ+ issues.