Gender

[John_Catholic]

Hello,

I have been looking online and haven’t found any answers, and then I found this website and thought I would ask here. My question deals with someone who has recently resurfaced in my life, and I was hoping that someone might be able to offer some insight into this.

All throughout school this kid was in my class. We weren’t best of friends, but we knew each other well (or at least I thought we did). After graduation nobody heard from him for years, but rumors started circulating that he had changed his gender and got a sex change operation. Just last week, he moved back to our small Catholic community, but as a man. He said he went through a tremendous period of confusion, regrets his decisions, and says that he felt something missing in his life so he started praying. For him, he said he didn’t pray with the intention of wanting to return to a life of being a man, but that his desire to once again live as a man was the inevitable consequence of him praying faithfully. He said praying is what led him to accept his birth gender. He now lives quite a dedicated life of prayer.

My question is, since the Vatican has been pretty clear on transgender people, I’m wondering, would this person be welcomed back to the Church in the eyes of the Vatican? And of God? I don’t know the exact scripture, but from searching online I keep running into people who quote something about the sins of mutilation? Would they be forgiven for him if he is now living as a man?

I told him that I wouldn’t judge him because it’s not my place, but I was just curious about how the Vatican would see this? I’m asking because his friend had mentioned that he was contemplating on becoming a priest. Again, I’m just curious if someone who had an operation like this would be allowed to become a Roman Catholic priest. Personally, I think he’s make a fine priest, but that’s just me.

Thanks for any information you can provide,

John

 

[Barish]

My understanding is that a person can repent of any sin. It seems to be an offense against charity to reject a repentant sinner because of the precise nature of the sin. Even if physical effects are still present, how does this differ from the ravages of drug addiction or even people who have had a vasectomy?

Prudence may dictate the interactions but banning a person from a “Catholic community” seems wrong.

 

[puzzleannie]

Hello
My question is, since the Vatican has been pretty clear on transgender people, I’m wondering, would this person be welcomed back to the Church in the eyes of the Vatican? And of God? I don’t know the exact scripture, but from searching online I keep running into people who quote something about the sins of mutilation? Would they be forgiven for him if he is now living as a man?

I John

what statement of the Vatican are you referencing?

it does not matter whether or not in that person’s past he did any sin–which of course is none of our business to speculate on–he can be forgiven absolved and welcomed back to the church through the normal means of confession and the other sacraments

the medical aspect of things he has gone through in his life are another matter entirel and he is free to deal with them through any medical means that are not fundamentally contradictory to morality and respect for life. Since those conditions are extremely complex, and much rarer than popular press would have you believe, there is no one medical answer that applies to everyone labelled transgender. It is one of those areas where no bystander can, or should, have all the facts, so should not even be speculating, much less gossiping. Do your part by nipping gossip in the bud.