According to the latest Vatican document, transgender and gay people can be baptized, have their children baptized, be godparents, and witnesses at religious weddings.
In a document of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in which they answered questions posed by a bishop, the following is written about the baptism of adopted children of transgender and gay couples: "In order to baptize a child, there must be a well-founded hope that the child will grow up in the Catholic religion. "
However, he was vague about whether a same-sex couple can have a baptism for their adopted or surrogate child.
"A transsexual - including one who has undergone hormonal treatment and gender reassignment surgery - can receive baptism under the same conditions as other believers, if there is no situation that could cause a public scandal or embarrass the faithful"
- says La Croix in the two-and-a-half-page document in Italian.
Reuters people belonging to the LGBT community in baptism. The questions and answers were signed by Argentine Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and approved by Pope Francis on October 31.
Earlier, Pope Francis also spoke positively about transgender believers:
They are God's daughters!
she said after meeting a transgender group.
The 86-year-old Pope Francis regularly tries to make the church more accepting of the LGBTQ community without changing the teachings: according to him, same-sex attraction is not a sin, but same-sex sexual acts are. When asked whether transgender people can be baptized, the office said: yes, under certain conditions, as long as "there is no risk of public scandal or disorientation among the faithful".
Cover photo: MTI/Zoltán Máthé
