The Roman Catholic Church has always been clear regarding its stance towards homosexuality. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity (Cf. Genesis 19:1-29; Romans 1:24-27; 1 Corinthians 6:10; 1 Timothy 1:10), tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered’…They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.”
However, despite this official disapproval, the Church believes that homosexuals “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.” At the same time, the Church teaches that “Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery…by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.”
Regarding transgenderism, the Church’s belief is “one that is grounded in genuinely confirmed reality. One is born either male or female… In this light, the Church recognizes that every human person is created in the image and likeness of God, male or female (Gen. 1:26-27). And so we should help people discover their true identities as children of God, not support them in the disordered attempt to reject their undeniable biological identity.”
Pope Francis does not deny these teachings. But the Holy Father seems to have his own point of emphasis regarding these fundamental issues. In January of 2023, the Pope said, “It’s not a crime (to be gay) Yes, but it’s a sin…Fine, but first let’s distinguish between a sin and a crime…It’s also a sin to lack charity with one another.” He also “criticized laws that criminalize homosexuality as ‘unjust,’ saying God loves all his children just as they are and called on Catholic bishops who support the laws to welcome LGBTQ people into the church. ‘Being homosexual isn’t a crime,’ Francis said during an exclusive interview…with The Associated Press.”
Now the Catholic Church under the direction of Pope Francis has gone even further in expressing its support for homosexual and transgender Catholics. Early in November of 2023, “(t)he Vatican announced…that transgender people can be baptized and become godparents under certain conditions, as well as serve as witnesses to church weddings… 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’…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.'”
This statement did not come from Pope Francis himself, but was written by Argentinean Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, who is head of the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith. However, according to Reuters, Pope Franics approved of this statement on October 31, 2023.
Most concerning to the Catholic faithful is the lack of clarity in Cardinal Fernandez’ pronouncements. As described by CBS News, the baptism of a transsexual or any of the other rights of participation described in the statement can only be accomplished “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.”
Further, the document also fails to clarify whether a transgender person should be baptized under a name consistent with their birth sex, or with a name consistent with their chosen sexual identity. If the transgender is baptized under a name consistent with their chosen sexual identity, wouldn’t the Priest performing the baptism be tacitly endorsing transgenderism?
It is unclear how a same sex couple could be expected to provide a “well-founded hope” that their child would be “educated in the Catholic religion.” Besides sending the child for religious education, would that same sex couple be expected to provide a “proper” Christian example, refrain from “sinful activity” and live together in chastity? How could this unrealistic expectation not cause “disorientation among the faithful” by its very ambiguity?
Judge John Wilson (ret.) served on the bench in NYC
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