But the service, called the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, was vague in its response to the question of whether a same-sex couple can baptize an adopted or surrogate child in the Church, Reuters news agency said.
Jose Negri, bishop of Santo Amaro, Brazil, sent six questions to the doctrinal office in July about LGBT persons and their participation in the sacraments of baptism and marriage.
The three pages of questions and answers were signed by the head of the department, Argentine Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, and on October 31. they were confirmed by Pope Francis. They were posted on the department’s website on Wednesday, using the Italian word for “transgender”.
Francis, 86, has tried to make the Church more LGBT-friendly by not changing Church teaching, including teaching that same-sex attraction is not sinful, but same-sex acts are.
In response to the question of whether transgender people can be baptized, the doctrinal office said that they can be baptized under certain conditions and as long as “there is no risk of causing a public scandal or disorientation of the faithful”.
It said transgender people could act as godparents at baptisms and witnesses at church weddings at the discretion of the local priest, but the local priest should exercise “pastoral prudence” in making the decision.
“This is an important step forward for the Church to see transgender people not only as people (in a Church where some say they don’t really exist) but also as Catholics,” X, formerly known as Twitter, said on Twitter. , said Father James Martin, a prominent Jesuit priest and supporter of LGBT rights in the Church.
Francis has met transsexuals, and in July in a meeting with one transsexual said: “Even if we are sinners, he (God) comes to us to help us. The Lord loves us as we are, it’s the crazy love of God.”
The document says a person of the same sex can also be a witness at a Catholic wedding, the office said, citing existing Church canon law that does not contain such a ban.
The answer was less clear about same-sex relationships and their role in baptizing babies, children or adults who are being initiated into the Church.
A Brazilian bishop has asked for clarification on whether a same-sex couple who adopted a child or received it from a surrogate mother can baptize it in a Catholic ceremony.
The response states that in order to baptize a child of a same-sex couple, there must be a “reasonable hope that the child will be brought up in the Catholic religion.”
There was a similarly nuanced answer to the question of whether a person of the same sex can be a godfather during church baptisms. It states that a person must “live a life consistent with the faith.”
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2024-09-25 23:55:57
