Does the Church Allow Sex-Changes?

[Warloff]

I lurk on another Catholic forum where recently a prominent poster announced he was undergoing a sex-change.

My friends,

I am a male to female transsexual. I have been aware of this for over 20 years. Over 10 years ago, I pursued a sex change over the course of several years. Among other things, this entailed estrogen therapy and a preliminary surgery. I was living for all intents and purposes as a woman and was routinely called ma’am wherever I went.

I stopped my transition because of religious concerns and also because I thought it was more convenient simply to live as a gay male.

The nature of this condition is such, however, that it will not go away. It is not curable through psychotherapy. This is the consensus of the medical community.

About a year and a half ago, I resumed estrogen therapy. I did so after obtaining an opinion from the National Catholic Bioethics Center that this is morally permissible for me.

The Vatican issued an instruction sub secretum in 2000 to all the world’s bishops on the issue of transsexualism. In 2003, it was issued again to a number of bishops’ conferences. The instruction stated that bishops should not authorize a change of sex on baptismal certificates because, in the view of the Church, the sex change procedure does not change a person’s birth sex. However, the instruction also stated that sex change procedures are morally licit at least in some extreme cases where it would cure the person’s inner turmoil. That is the very nature of transsexualism, so one can assume the moral licitness of a sex change where the person is truly transsexual.

The Vatican also instructed that those who have undergone the procedure may not marry, be ordained or enter religious life.

I nevertheless intend to continue to date men, and hopefully someday marry a good man.

While I still live (somewhat awkwardly) in the male role, that will change during the course of this year.

I am coming out in the forum partly because my gender has been questioned and mocked by several men here. They accused me of not looking like a male. Well, they are quite right. I also think it is important for people to understand this issue better.

I hope this helps you to understand now.

Pax,

Clare

catholicforum.fisheaters.com/index.php/topic,3458857.msg33900395.html#msg33900395

The administrator of the forum has stated this is all correct and that those that disagree are disobeying from the Church. I don’t want to bring an issue from another forum here (and ask for forgiveness from the moderators if I am not allowed to post this), but I am very troubled by this. It doesn’t seem right, but I also don’t want to disagree with the teachings of the Church.

Is this what the church teaches?

 

[po18guy]

The Church allows repentance. It allows for a deeper understanding of the crosses we bear in this life. It allows for the expression of love for all. It calls us to deny ourselves, take up those crosses and follow the Lord. It does not allow for God to be opposed. Sex changes do not alter the gender of one’s DNA. If one is supposed to be male, they would have been born male, a likewise for females. If one “thinks” or “feels” or “desires” to be man-made into the complementary sex, then one’s thoughts, feelings or desires are disordered. Back to repentance.

 

[Michael_Francis]

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