Is Pope Francis changing The Teachings of The Catholic Church regarding transgender and homosexual persons?
Issues such as this are in the news lately and on the minds of Catholics everywhere. And as usual it is an issue of misunderstanding as well. I know people are misunderstanding it because I see their comments on social media. And it concerns me because The Catholic Church is here for our salvation, given to us by Christ Himself. If there are those who are mislead and then leave the Church they are putting themselves in danger, because Salvation comes from Christ through His Catholic Church.I don't want to get into all of the issues in this one post. For this post I want to focus on the issue of unbaptised, "transgender" (those who identify as a different gender) and homosexual people being able to rightly receive baptism. I hope to show you how the Vatican (Pope Francis) are not saying what you think they/he may be saying. This is why I always look at the issue from a position of Catholic Doctrine/Teachings and actually reading the Vatican documents for myself.
On October 03, 2023 the Vatican published this statement titled on the Vatican website as; Answers to Several Questions from His Excellency, the Most Reverend José Negri, Bishop of Santo Amaro, Brazil, Regarding Participation in the Sacraments of Baptism and Matrimony by Transgender Persons and Homosexual Persons (3 November 2023)
It was published in Italian and I am not sure when they will be offering it in English so I went ahead and created an English version for those who wish to truly understand what The Church is teaching. I heard of this on social media when someone posted the Catholic News Agency article titled; Vatican doctrine office: Transgender-identifying people can be baptized, witness marriages You can read it for yourself if you like.
At first glance it seems that the Catholic News Agency is trying to say (give the impression) that the Vatican and Pope Francis are trying to change Catholic Teaching, by affirming sinful behavior by allowing baptism. When I saw this posted by CNA and then saw some of the comments like "time to tap out" I grew concerned.
It is obvious to me that these people didn't bother to read the article in the first place, and if they did they misunderstand it because they really don't understand what The Catholic Church teaches, because while the Title was misleading, the article did not say anything new about Church Teaching. And when I went to the Vatican Website and read the Document in question for myself I understood even more that those people just don't understand Catholic Teaching.
This is unfortunate but I do not blame The Church or bad catechesis. We have the Catechism, the papal documents on Vatican Website, etc... We have countless books by excellent theologians who beautifully explain exactly what the Church teaches and they can back it up big time with Sacred Scripture, early Christian/Church writings, etc.. You have to read folks! You cannot just go by what people on the internet say about it. Go to the source! You have no excuse for not understand The faith and understanding it well.
Unfortunately there are many people who just have it out for The Pope, and The Catholic Church in general and they are just looking for something to sink their teeth into. Some people just want The Catholic Church to be wrong no matter what the truth says! I am not saying that individual people in the Church cannot be wrong, but The Teachings of The Catholic Church come from Christ and cannot change! The Pope can have his own opinions but must adhere to The Teachings of The Church 100% on faith and morality.
Certain traditions can certainly vary as well as how we do some things, but her teachings on faith and morality stay the same! Because Christ does not change and it is God to has taught The Church what to believe and what to teach. The Church has grown from a tiny seed beginning with Christ and His Apostles, but His teachings have been past on and have remained the same, and no man can change that!
This latest question regarding baptism and those who identify as homosexual or transgender is no different. As we will see if we look at this with the eyes of Christ and not as someone who is just looking for something wrong with The Church, or Pope Francis, you will come to understand it. My prayer is that you come to understand The Teachings of The Church clearly, that way you can become a more faithful Catholic as well as more effective evangelist.
In the document the Vatican answers the questions about allowing transgender and homosexual people to be baptised (which is Christian initiation) thus becoming Christians and members of The Catholic Church. It also goes into questions about transexual people being godparents for newly baptised inphants, about who can be a witness at a wedding, and the issue of homosexual "parents" who are seeking to have their children baptised.
All of the answers to these questions are answered clearly and accurately according to The Teachings of The Catholic Church in the Vatican document linked above in Italian as published by the Vatican. Here is the English copy that I have put together for you. Click here to view. You must read it now before you proceed into this post. I will try to explain these answers a bit more in this post. But I am not trying to redo what has already been done by The Vatican, and Pope Francis. FYI, in the document that I prepared for you, there is also additional information from The Catechism to back up what The Vatican is saying in the document.
Now let us continue...
As Catholic Christians it is important, and this is true for any topic that has to do with faith and morality, to not just go by what others say, what you have heard, but to actually know something about it too. This is why I always refer to The Catechism of The Catholic Church. Along those same lines is actually reading the papal documents for yourself rather than going by what others are saying that it says.
We certainly have a beautiful faith that can be traced back to the time of Christ and His Apostles. It truly is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. And guided by The Holy Spirit to lead us to the fullness of faith and to receive the deposit of faith which was began with Christ and His Apostles.
"And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:18,19 ESV
Ok, so this is not an apologetics article about Apostolic Succession so I will not get into it any more here in this post.
Continuing on the topic at hand...
Like I said before the CNA article title seemed to rub people the wrong way. Why? I think it is a combination of not clearly understanding Catholic Teaching to begin with and not actually taking the time to read what the Pope and The Vatican said. Don't get me wrong I am not saying that the Pope a man is infallible, he is a human, a sinner like all of us, and he needs Christ.
I am not even saying that this Pope has not done some things wrong for The Church, we have had bad Popes before (even Popes a lot worse than Francis) and we will have them again. I do believe that we will get The Church and the Pope that we deserve at any time in history. God is such a Father that He will give us exactly what we ask for even if what we ask for will harm us. Think about that! If we want the Church to be better we need to be better. And when I think of all the baptised catholics who do not practice the faith the right way or at all, and live unholy lives. There is no question why God is allowing us to have the Church that we do right now. This is a call to holiness! More on that in another post.
But The Church is guided by The Holy Spirit and so is The Magisterium when defining doctrines on faith and morality. That is how we got the bible folks, and we can trust it, right? Since we can trust Christ and His Holy Spirit, we can trust what The Church is teaching us by that same Spirit. Once again this post in not about papal infallibility, but I would like to invite you to learn more about that by reading The Catechism at some other time.
I get the impression that people are thinking that Pope Francis and The Vatican are condoning sin, in this case homosexual sin, including those who are choosing to live a transgender lifestyle. I can say today writing this, that having read many of the documents for myself, I am confident that the Church, and Pope Francis is NOT doing that.
At this point I need to make a confession; I too have gotten myself caught up at times in this thinking, but it was usually because I did not take the time to read the original document for myself, and just took what others said as probably true. Once I started reading the documents for myself and look at the information in light of The Catechism, I began to see things in a much more balanced way. This of course has improved on my relationship with The Church, and in turn God.
It is not about seeing things the way we want to, but the way God does, the way Christ does. This is why having a good understanding of what the Bible says, and what Christ has taught us through His Church in extremely important. How many do you think have left The One True Faith over what they think the Pope is teaching, or what they think The Church teaches? This is most unfortunate, and why I love to study and why I am writing this blog post.
So to the issue at hand...
Is The Church condoning sin by saying those who identify as transgender/transexual or homosexual should be allowed entry into The Church through baptism? NO!
The Pope is NOT SAYING that those who are living a transgender or homosexual lifestyle and are unrepented can get baptised. Absolutely not!
It says in the document; "A transsexual – who had also undergone hormone treatment and surgery sex reassignment surgery – can receive baptism, under the same conditions of the other faithful, if there are no situations in which there is a risk of generating public scandal or disorientation among the faithful."
Again it says; "can receive baptism under the same conditions of the other faithful" This means that if you are a sinner, and not already validly baptised, and desire to live a life according to The Teachings of The Catholic Faith, and be in right relationship with God, then you should not be denied baptism! That is what baptism is for folks, as Catholics we know that baptism forgives us all past sins, no matter how grave they may be, and makes us adopted children of God, and members of His holy faith.
What a beautiful faith we have! And isn't that what we want for those lost in a sinful lifestyle, ie, everyone, repentance and forgiveness of sins?
Adults (those ages who are the age of reason and up) who wish to become baptised (initiated into the Christian life), and who especially want to follow The Teachings of The Church, must first attend what is called (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA). These are classes that teach inquirers everything that they should know about The Catholic Faith before receiving baptism. They may,and should also seek counseling from a faithful parish priest who can help them understand what becoming Catholic will entail and how it will look for their particular situation.
And what about infant baptism?
The document also answers; whether or not to deny baptism to the children of those in homosexual relationships. The document answers like this; "For the child to be baptized there must be a well-founded hope that he will be educated in the Catholic religion" This means that the parents must agree and promise to The Church and to God, that they will raise the child under the traditions, and teachings of The Catholic Faith. But notice that The Church says "well founded hope" that the child will be raised in The Faith.
The Church in her wisdom knows that many people will not keep the agreement, and this is a sad thing indeed. How many people do you know, and I know who had their children baptized only to neglect their religious upbringing, the next day and throughout their life? But at least the child is baptised, why because baptism removes the stain of original sin, makes us Christians and adopted children of God! Baptism imparts on us the sanctifying Grace that we do need in our lives. As Catholics we believe that baptism actually does something to us, to our soul, and is not just an outward sign of faith for everyone else to see.
Quick note; in the Orthodox Churches the custom is to impart on the child, three sacraments; baptism, confirmation, and holy communion, all at once, just as an adult coming into The Church would most likely be doing. Where as in the Roman Rite, we typically will do, baptism at infancy, holy communion at elementary age, and confirmation around jr. highschool age. Either way The Sacrament is legitimate.
The next question in the document has to do with; if those who are engaged in a sinful relationship, such as homosexual relationship, be godfathers, and godmothers of the child that is to be baptised?
This answer is much like the last one in which The Church states; "In accordance with can. 874 § 1, 1o and 3rd CIC, whoever has the attitude and conducts a life in conformity to the faith, assumes the role, and meets the requirements can be godfather or godmother (refer to link for can. Law) (cf. 1o) and «leads a life in conformity with the faith and the role he takes on» (3o; cf. can. 685, § 2 CCEO). The case is different when two homoemotional people coexist, it consists, not in simple cohabitation, in a stable and declared to be in a relationship well known by the community"
This means that only those who are practicing Catholics, who can take on the responsibility of raising up the child in the faith, can and should be considered to be godparent. The case is different for those who are in a homosexual relationship known to the public, because such people lead a life contrary to the faith and can add nothing of value to the religious life of the child as a godparent.
In other words even if someone is a catholic, if they are living in such a way that is NOT IN CONFORMITY TO THE FAITH, they are not to take on the role of godfather or godmother. And this goes for anyone not just those in homosexual relationships. The document goes into other topics as well but the story is the same, and there is no new teaching here.
If you are, if you will, and if you can live in conformity to the faith then you may be a godparent. If you are not baptized and are repentant of your sins, no matter what sins those may be, and desire to live a life in conformity to God and His Church you must not be denied baptism. If you are a parent and desire that your child be an adopted child of God, and live a life in conformity to The Church then the child must not be denied baptism. If you are a sinner and would like to be, or are being asked witness at a Catholic wedding, there is nothing in cannon law that says you cannot be.
In conclusion...
Here I am on a different day from when I started it, trying to finish this article. And I realize that this all seems complicated and I am trying to make sense of it just like you are. That is why I am taking the time to read the documents, pray and why I love to learn about our beautiful faith. I would like to encourage you all and anyone reading this to go and learn what it means to be Catholic. Read your bible, read the Catechism, and go to the Vatican Website and read what the officials are saying to us for yourself before you go believing what others are saying it says.
The truth is sin complicates things. I know in my life, sin has in fact complicated things, and I had to learn that the hard way. Any kind of sin separates us from God, His Truth and His Grace. Sin is the great destroyer of goodness in our lives and the lives of others. I know it is easy to single out certains sins and say "that one is worst than this one" and say "my sins are not as bad and that guys sins over there." I see that happening a lot in the body of believers. I know I am guilty of it too.
But ALL SIN OFFENDS GOD, AND ALL SIN SEPARATES US FROM GOD! And God knows we are broken, and wretched, He knows it before we even realize it ourselves. We are all sinners and we all need Jesus, we all need His Salvation. And no one should be denied that by His Church, which is the means of bringing His Grace to this fallen world. Of course this needs to be done in a way that is in fact in conformity to, His Word, His Church and not in a way that brings scandal, and sends the wrong message out into the world which only jeopardizes the salvation of souls.
It is our job as the baptised to be christ in the world and to bring Him to those who desperately need Him. We do it in love, and in charity! And we don't treat people like their sins are worse than our sins. In other words my sins are not better than your sins. Most of us have sexual sin, most of us have hated others, most of us have hurt others, most of us have been confused about some things, most of want to think that sin doesn't really matter, and most of us would rather do what we want rather than what God wants.
No one is above God, and no one gets a free pass to heaven! It requires faith, repentance, God's Grace and obedience to His Will. And without His Grace not one of us would believe, not one of us would be repentant, not one of us would obey Him, not one of us would even care! The fact that we are even having these discussions is actually a good thing. We should want those lost in sin, NO MATTER WHAT THE SIN IS, to come to faith, repentance and salvation!
God bless!
JU
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