In a new report endorsed by Pope Francis, the Vatican has declared gender-affirming surgeries and surrogacy to be grave violations of human dignity.
The 20-page Dignitas Infinita, or Infinite Dignity, published on Monday by the Vatican’s strong division of philosophy, is the culmination of five years of work.
It was released because the Catholic Church is divided over a range of cultural issues, covering everything from war to biodiversity, social justice, and the key elements of Francis’ 11-year church.
While the report reaffirms the religion’s long-held opposition to abortion and euthanasia, the Vatican has now also reiterated its rejection of gender theory, or the idea that one’s gender may be changed. It stated that God created man and woman as distinct biological beings and that no one should attempt to deviate from that idea or try to “make oneself God.”
It acknowledged the use of surgery to treat “genital anomalies,” but it emphasized that “such medical treatment would not constitute a gender change in the sense intended here.”
Additionally, the declaration noted that surrogacy violates both the child’s and the surrogate mother’s dignity, a stance Francis criticized in January and called for a worldwide ban.
The pontiff recently denounced gender theory as the “worst risk” facing humanity.
The Vatican also reaffirmed its opposition to the criminalization of homosexuality, which still exists in many countries, particularly in Africa.
“It should be condemned that, in some places, individuals are imprisoned, tortured, and even deprived of the right to live solely because of their sexual orientation,” it said.
“We do not speak much about this violation of human rights, … and it is regrettable that some Catholics defend these cruel laws,” Victor Manuel Fernandez, head of the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith, said at a news conference.
The document does not address “gender diverse individuals.”
The pontiff has emphasized that the Catholic Church welcomes all children of God and has made reaching out to LGBTQ+ people a hallmark of his papacy. He has also ministered to transgender Catholics.
He has criticized gender ideology as an “ugly philosophy” that threatens to erase God’s distinctions between male and female. He has specifically criticized what he refers to as the “ideological colonization” of the West in developing nations, where aid is sometimes conditioned on adopting European concepts of gender and sexual health.
Activists for LGBTQ+ Catholics have criticized Monday’s report as outdated, dangerous, and contrary to the expressed goal of recognizing the “infinite dignity” of all of God’s children.
They also warned it could have real-world effects on transgender people, fueling anti-trans violence and discrimination.
“While it lays out a wonderful rationale for why every human being, regardless of circumstance in life, must be respected, honored, and loved, it does not apply this principle to gender-diverse people,” Francis DeBernardo of New Ways Ministry, which advocates for LGBTQ+ Catholics, told The Associated Press.
Transgender activists also criticized the document as “hurtful” and devoid of the voices and experiences of actual transgender people, especially in its differentiation between transgender people and intersex people.
The notion that gender-affirming healthcare, which has saved the lives of so many wonderful transgender people and allowed them to live in harmony with their bodies and communities, might risk or diminish their dignity is hurtful and dangerously ignorant, according to Mara Klein, a nonbinary transgender activist.
We are faced with a church that does not listen and refuses to see the beauty of creation that can be found in our biographies, on top of the rising hostility toward our communities.
The announcement on Monday comes at a time when there is some outcry against transgender people, including in the United States, where Republican-led state legislatures are considering a new round of legislation that would restrict access to medical care for transgender young people and, in some cases, adults.
Additionally, the handling of the issue in books and school curriculums, as well as regulations governing students’ pronouns, transgender participation in sports teams, and the use of bathrooms in schools, is under consideration.
