Last week, Pope Francis invited a group of transgender women, many of them sex workers or immigrants from Latin America, to the Catholic Church’s Vatican luncheon for World Day of the Poor.
The Pope and transgender women have forged a close relationship ever since he came to their aid when the coronavirus pandemic left them unable to work. They now meet monthly for VIP visits with the pope and receive medicine, money and shampoo at all times, according to the Associated Press.
“Before, the church was closed to us. They didn’t see us as normal people, they saw us as demons,” said Andrea Paola Torres, one of the members of the transgender group.・Lopez told the Associated Press.
Approximately 1,200 poor and homeless people attended the luncheon in the Papal Audience Hall, where they ate hearty meals and desserts.
Vatican approves transgender people to be baptized and become godparents
Pope Francis prays before the icon of the Madonna del Popolo, venerated by Belarusians and Ukrainians, during a general audience in Paul VI Hall. (Grzegorz Galazka/Archivio Grzegorz Galazka/Mondadori Portfolio, Getty Images)
The invitation to transgender women comes after the Vatican released a controversial document earlier this month stating that individuals suffering from gender dysphoria will also be allowed to be baptized and named as godparents under certain circumstances. This was done in response to what was done.
This document is an official response to the allegations raised by Giuseppe Negri, Bishop of Santo Amaro in Brazil, seeking guidance on this issue. It was disseminated by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and signed by Pope Francis.
However, although the explanation is somewhat vague, the guidelines clearly state that in order for a person with gender identity disorder to be baptized, they must not cause “scandal” or “disorientation.”
According to the Vatican, the same rules applied to the role of godparents and the qualifications to bear witness to marriages. The move was praised by LGTBQ+ supporters.
Pope Francis: ‘Gender ideology’ is one of the ‘most dangerous ideological colonies’
Pope Francis leads the traditional Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City on March 8, 2023. (Stefano Costantino/SOPA Images/LightRocket, Getty Images)
The ambiguity of the ruling is consistent with various theological pronouncements of the Vatican under Pope Francis, and could make it difficult for clergy to understand how to implement the ruling. .
Father Brian Greve, who holds a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and is a priest in the Archdiocese of New York, said that while the Vatican’s guidance is not inconsistent with church teaching, it is probably “insufficient.” He told Fox News Digital that there is a possibility.
“There is nothing in this document that contradicts the teachings of the Church. My reaction when I read this document yesterday was that it is flawed. The problem lies in what it says. It’s more about what wasn’t said,” Greve said.
He added: “What I was disappointed to see missing in the document was the insistence that, as a right of baptism itself, whatever a person’s name is, we call it their Christian name.” [or] their baptismal name […] What we must affirm is that the correct biological pronouns should be used. ”
The Catholic Church teaches that gender ideology and transgender lifestyles are “serious disorders” that require correction through spiritual and secular therapy.
Catholic archdiocese defends policy of not accepting children who reject biological sex
Pope Francis presided over a Holy Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City on November 3, 2023, commemorating the suffrage of Pope Benedict XVI, cardinals, and bishops who passed away in the past year. (Photo courtesy of Vatican Media, Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
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“The fact that Pope Francis today allows us with this law to baptize, or perhaps to take care of a close friend’s child, or to take care of a friend who asks to be a godfather or godfather. I think that’s what makes us transgender.” [people] It makes me feel more human,” Carla Segovia, an Argentine sex worker, said of the pope, Reuters reported.
Fox News’ Timothy HJ Nerozzi contributed to this report.
