The Vatican has explained that a trans person can be baptized like the rest of the faithful and serve as godfather or godmother of this sacrament but with conditions, in response to the doubts on this matter from a Brazilian bishop. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has published a text signed on October 31 by Pope Francis and his prefect, Argentine Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, to answer questions about participation in baptisms and weddings of trans and homosexual people raised. by the bishop of Santo Amaro, José Negri.
The answers, the old Holy Office clarifies, “repropose, to a large extent, the fundamental contents of what has already been affirmed on this matter in the past” by the Congregation, alluding to a document on the issue from December 2018.
What does the Vatican say about trans godparents?
First of all, the Vatican responds that “a transsexual, who has also undergone hormonal treatment or sex reassignment surgery, can receive baptism under the same conditions as the rest of the faithful.” This is as long as “there are no situations in which there is a risk of generating public scandal or disorienting the faithful,” he clarifies without giving further details. “In the case of children or adolescents with problems of a transsexual nature, if they are well prepared and willing they can receive baptism.”
The Congregation considers that when there are doubts “about the objective moral situation” of a person, the Church teaches that “when the sacrament is received without repentance for serious sins, the subject does not receive sanctifying grace despite receiving its sacramental character.” The document justifies this position by citing Saint Thomas Aquinas or Saint Augustine and recalls that Pope Francis himself defends that baptism “is the door that allows Christ to establish himself in the person” and that the Church “is not a customs office but a house.” paternal where there is room for everyone.”
The second question from the Brazilian bishop is whether a trans person can be a godfather or godmother at a baptism. “Under certain conditions, the role of godfather or godmother may be accepted for an adult transsexual who has also undergone hormonal treatment or sex reassignment surgery,” the document indicates.
“However, since this does not constitute a right, pastoral prudence requires that it not be allowed when there is a danger of scandal, improper legitimation or disorientation in the educational sphere of the ecclesial community.”
Regarding whether a trans person can be a witness at a wedding, it is noted that “there is nothing in the current universal canonical legislation that prohibits a transsexual person from being a witness at a marriage.” The document also answers the question of whether two “homoaffective” people can appear as parents of a child who must be baptized and who has been adopted or obtained through other methods such as surrogacy or “surrogacy.”
In this sense, he explains that “for a child to be baptized, there must be a well-founded hope that he will be educated in the Catholic religion.” Likewise, in responding to the question of whether a homosexual can sponsor a baptized person, the Vatican emphasizes that canon law dictates that “those who possess the attitude and lead a life by the faith and the responsibility they assume can be godfathers or godmothers.”
However, he calls the case of two homosexual people who do not live a “simple coexistence” but “a stable and declared ‘more uxorious’ relationship well known by the community” as “different.” “In any case, due pastoral prudence requires that each situation be wisely considered to protect the sacrament of baptism and above all its reception.”
The Vatican asks to consider the “real value” that the ecclesial community gives to the roles of godfather and godmother, as well as to take into account “the possibility” that someone from the family circle acts as “guarantor” for the “correct transmission” of the Catholic faith to the baptized. Finally, the Vatican pointed out that “there is nothing in the current universal canonical legislation that prohibits a homoaffective person who lives together from being a witness at a wedding.”
This story was written in Spanish by Miguel Fernandez in Cultura Colectiva News
