- Small-town trans women have an improbable partnership with Francis.
- Relationships are a component of Francis ‘ larger effort to broaden the reach of the Church.
- Recently, the Catholic Church permitted trans people to serve as guardians.
On Sunday, Pope Francis hosted a luncheon for transgender people in the Vatican as he strengthened an improbable bond that has come to serve as the foundation for his campaign to increase the diversity of the Catholic Church.
A small cluster of transgender people from Torvaianica, north of Rome, attended the Pope’s World Day of the Poor breakfast on Sunday. Along with about 1,200 other poor and impoverished people, they were also welcomed.
Due to Pope Francis ‘ church, their offer to the Vatican would have been inconceivable. Their proposal was the result of a friendship with the local Catholic priest who had helped transgender girls in Torvaianica during the Covid-19 epidemic.
” This is a great opportunity for us transsexuals,” said Claudia Victoria Salas, 55, an Argentinean trans tailor and cleaner who was seated next to Francis. I give the Pope a heartfelt love!
The Brazilian has worked to get the Church in a more equitable way ever since Francis became Pope in 2013. Francis urged Catholic priests to welcome LGBTQ+ people in January and criticized laws that made sexuality illegal.
Recently, the Vatican’s philosophical office overturned outright prohibitions on transgender individuals serving as godparents and on same-sex blessings. The Catholic Church’s position has been updated by assertions to allow trans people to become baptized, be guardians, and serve as witnesses at spiritual weddings.
In his efforts to make the Church more accepting of the LGBTQ+ group, the Pope has had to tread a fine range. Some senior figures have questioned his equitable position, which has widened the gap between Catholics who are traditional.
Until Covid- 19, when they started asking for assistance from a local pastor who was helping those who had fallen on hard times, the transgender girls of Torvaianica felt much away from such ideological disputes in the Vatican.
The ladies received assistance from Father Andrea Conocchia of the Blessed Immaculate Virgin district in the beach area. He advised them to publish to Francis and share their struggles, he said.
Along with money, there were also provides for Vatican treatments and a conference with Pope Francis for Torvaianica’s transgender girls. They now regularly attend Francis ‘ Wednesday public visitors on a monthly basis, where they are given VIP furniture.
They claimed that in an effort to increase the Catholic Church’s welcomingness, they extended their most recent offer to the World Day of the Poor.
Carla Segovia, 46, a sex worker speaking prior to the journey, said,” We transgender people in Italy feel somewhat more people because Pope Francis brings us closer to religion.” We need like, she continued.
Segovia emphasized the significance of the modifications that make it possible for trans women to serve as relatives. She claimed that being a godparent was the closest she had ever come to having her own children, and she added that doing so would make her feel more at ease about completely renouncing her Catholicism.
She added that she thought it was necessary to completely resolve with Catholicism,” The standard from Pope Francis brings me closer to finding that utter peace.”
Another Torvaianica trans woman concurred.
The Church was previously closed to us. Andrea Paola Torres Lopez, a transgender Colombian woman also known as Consuelo, said,” They did n’t see us as normal people, they saw the devil.” Next Pope Francis showed up, and the Church’s doors were opened for us.
