If it would not cause scandal or confusion among other Catholics, “a transsexual — even one who has undergone hormone treatment and gender reassignment surgery — may receive baptism under the same conditions as other faithful,” said a document from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Archbishop Zbigņev Stankevičs of Riga, Latvia, a participant in this month’s Synod of Bishops on Synodality, has said homosexuals are called to live in chastity in accord with Church teaching, but credited Pope Francis for what he called his own “personal conversion” on the issue, becoming less judgmental.
The synodal way is not an invention of Pope Francis, but it is based on Jesus’ way of inclusivity and listening, and on divine revelation itself, said Redemptorist Father Vimal Tirimanna, a leading moral theologian from Sri Lanka.
Participants in Pope Francis’ ongoing Synod of Bishops on Synodality said Wednesday that Church doctrine is not up for discussion on issues such as women and the inclusion of LGBTQ+ Catholics, and that while opinions on these topics may differ, there is no “polarization.”
The U.S. bishops said a proposed rule by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services aimed at protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination in federal agency grants could limit the work of Catholic social service agencies.
An interfaith group of Maryland parents has asked a federal appeals court to allow them to opt their children out of classroom instruction pertaining to books containing LGBTQ+ themes to which they object on religious grounds.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against a school district in the state Aug. 28, asking a judge to block that district’s requirement that parents be notified if their child seeks to change their pronouns or gender identity at school.
A group of Catholic, Muslim, and Ethiopian Orthodox parents in Maryland are continuing their fight to allow their children in public elementary schools in Montgomery County to opt out of reading books, or being read books, with LGBTQ+ content.
North Carolina lawmakers Aug. 16 overrode the governor’s veto of legislation banning certain types of medical or surgical gender reassignment procedures in the state for minors who identify as transgender.
Pope Francis insisted Sunday that restricting access to sacraments such as priestly ordination, as the Catholic Church does for women, and marriage, in the case of the LGBTQ+ community, is not a sign of close-mindedness.
