Hermaphrodite Marriage

[Leela]

Obviously the Church opposes gay marriage. Can hermaphrodites marry in the Catholic Church? How about post-operative transvestites?

 

[Apollos]

Obviously the Church opposes gay marriage. Can hermaphrodites marry in the Catholic Church? How about post-operative transvestites?

No real hermaphrodites can marry. But the CC has ruled that men (women) who have had plastic surgery on their private parts to make them look like the opposite sex, can ever marry anyone.

 

[Dale_M]

Obviously the Church opposes gay marriage. Can hermaphrodites marry in the Catholic Church? How about post-operative transvestites?

Leela, I believe the questions you ask do not have a cut and dried answer. So be prepared for a long discussion!

But first, I wanted to change a couple words in your questions. You asked about “hermaphrodites”, but I think the preferred term is “intersex” Here is a definition from the US National Library of Medicine:

Intersex is a group of conditions where there is a discrepancy between the external genitals and the internal genitals (the testes and ovaries).

The older term for this condition, hermaphroditism, came from joining the names of a Greek god and goddess, Hermes and Aphrodite. Hermes was a god of male sexuality (among other things) and Aphrodite a goddess of female sexuality, love, and beauty.

Although the older terms are still included in this article for reference, they have been replaced by most experts (and patients and families) because they are misleading, confusing, and insensitive. Increasingly this group of conditions is being called disorders of sex development (DSDs).

The article goes into some deep explanation if you want more information. Intersex has a wide range of manifestations, so it can be complex to sort out.

nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001669.htm

You also asked about “post-operative transvestites.” However, transvestites are male heterosexuals who enjoy dressing as women for sexual pleasure. They wouldn’t be interested in getting sexual reassignment surgery, because they enjoy the pleasures of being male very much. (I know, it is a little confusing) I think what are are asking about is “post-operative transsexuals”, which would be persons who insist they were born with the wrong genitalia, and seek surgical correction of what they regard as a birth defect.

I don’t think the Catholic Church has a formal position on either intersex or transsexual surgery. However, seven years ago, a news story leaked word of a secret document about transsexualism. This document if it exists, has never been made public and few priests have ever heard word of it.

No real hermaphrodites can marry. But the CC has ruled that men (women) who have had plastic surgery on their private parts to make them look like the opposite sex, can ever marry anyone.

Apollos, I am not so certain about that. Would you be willing to cite some evidence in support of those two claims?

 

[Joe_Kelley]

No real hermaphrodites can marry. But the CC has ruled that men (women) who have had plastic surgery on their private parts to make them look like the opposite sex, can ever marry anyone.

Is there a typo here? Did you mean never?

 

[archistrage]

The most probable answer would be whichever set of sex organs actually works.
With medicine as it is these days, most anomalies are discovered right as, or even before, the child is born. In which case, the doctor talks to the parents about what their options are; surgery, hormones, or even sadly, abortion. However for the more positive cures (that actually cure something), the surgery can be done while the child is still developing within the womb, or right as it is born.

However, you should note that true hermaphroditism (where both sets of sex organs are fully present and working) has never been shown in humans. Pseudo-hermaphroditism (a.k.a. intersex) is where a person possesses one or more characteristics of both sexes. In cases like that, then as I said, it would be whichever one is fully functional. However, it will always be the parents duty to decide that.

Some people might argue that in cases like that, it should be whether their genes say they are XX (women) or XY (men). But in cases like that, that is often where the problem lies. Besides, we are more than the sum of our genes. I am not who I am strictly because of my DNA. It makes me human, but not me.

As always, in cases like that, the parents should always seek the counsel of their bishop that carries as much weight as this one.

Now in the case of a person who has just undergone a sex change operation. They have taken on the authority of God by occurring such an operation. It is a desecration of the body the same way that masturbation or any other lustful act desecrates the body. To quote God in Leviticus, “It is an abomination.” People rarely know what it is they really need in life, much less what they want our of life. It isn’t a good idea, no matter what perspective you look at it from.

Peace be with you,
Archistrage

 

[Nurse_Jo]

Hello I am a female pseudoheraphrodite with androgen insensitivity syndrome and Klinefelter syndrome 47 type XXY. Is it Gods will for me to take on the womans role and who can I marry?

 

[Theresa_Frances]

The most probable answer would be whichever set of sex organs actually works.
With medicine as it is these days, most anomalies are discovered right as, or even before, the child is born. In which case, the doctor talks to the parents about what their options are; surgery, hormones, or even sadly, abortion. However for the more positive cures (that actually cure something), the surgery can be done while the child is still developing within the womb, or right as it is born.

However, you should note that true hermaphroditism (where both sets of sex organs are fully present and working) has never been shown in humans. Pseudo-hermaphroditism (a.k.a. intersex) is where a person possesses one or more characteristics of both sexes. In cases like that, then as I said, it would be whichever one is fully functional. However, it will always be the parents duty to decide that.

Some people might argue that in cases like that, it should be whether their genes say they are XX (women) or XY (men). But in cases like that, that is often where the problem lies. Besides, we are more than the sum of our genes. I am not who I am strictly because of my DNA. It makes me human, but not me.

As always, in cases like that, the parents should always seek the counsel of their bishop that carries as much weight as this one.

Now in the case of a person who has just undergone a sex change operation. They have taken on the authority of God by occurring such an operation. It is a desecration of the body the same way that masturbation or any other lustful act desecrates the body. To quote God in Leviticus, “It is an abomination.” People rarely know what it is they really need in life, much less what they want our of life. It isn’t a good idea, no matter what perspective you look at it from.

Peace be with you,
Archistrage

You state that we are more than the sum of our genes, but then you make a statement in absolute terms equating a person who undergoes a “sex change” operation as a sinner. If we are more than the sum of our genes and our brain structure is at odds with our physical appearance, and the brain cannot be changed but but you can reassign gender through corrective surgery then why is it considered wrong? Gender reassignment is a more accurate term than one that carries the stygma of “sex change” where tabloid sensationalism connotates a negative image. Why is it not possible for a person who follows the teachings of the Church to live as a member of the Church in the gender they were born with. In this case gender not being in agreement with the original physical classification of their sex, but the physical aspect surgically corrected as in any other birth defect.

 

[paul1502]

]You state that we are more than the sum of our genes, but then you make a statement in absolute terms equating a person who undergoes a “sex change” operation as a sinner. If we are more than the sum of our genes and our brain structure is at odds with our physical appearance, and the brain cannot be changed but but you can reassign gender through corrective surgery then why is it considered wrong? Gender reassignment is a more accurate term than one that carries the stygma of “sex change” where tabloid sensationalism connotates a negative image. Why is it not possible for a person who follows the teachings of the Church to live as a member of the Church in the gender they were born with. In this case gender not being in agreement with the original physical classification of their sex, but the physical aspect surgically corrected as in any other birth defect.