How are transgender and nonbinary Christians, their families, rural ministers, and allies responding to Dignitas Infinita, the Vatican record on human respect released Monday that condemns “gender idea” and “sexual modify”?
Now, Bondings 2.0 features first, simple responses from eight LGBTQ+ or alliance Catholics, listed below alphabetically by last name. The past posts about Dignitas Infinita can be found at the end of this post. For New Ways Ministry’s speech on the report, visit around.
Phoebe Carstens (they/them) is a graduate student at Saint John’s School of Theology, Collegeville, and Bondings 2.0 contributor:
My first answer was one of resigned frustration and disappointment. I read through paragraph after article about the dignity of each individual human being, the need to address each person with love and respect, and recognize them as respectable individuals in their own uniqueness. I hoped that trans people’s experience and lifestyle may be appropriately taken into account and taken into account. However, no evidence of sympathetic encounters with trans people is suggested by this report, which—rather than speaking to the lived truth of transgender people, Catholics included—instead labels female transition as ‘a grave violation of human dignity,’ a fake threat for the faithful to fear alongside poverty, human trafficking, and war.
Within this disappointment, however, I see a hopeful opportunity: the conviction that trans Catholics have so much to offer and teach our Church about self-exploration, dignified relationality, and embracing our God-given gifts. Each trans Catholic person I’ve met has described their gender journey as a process of discovery, with Jesus as the guiding hand, into a recognition of their own dignity, previously obscured by feelings of shame, heartache, and dysphoria. I find solace in the knowledge that trans people have always been and will always be here. God has always admired and revered us. We always will be. And we are eager to give our gifts and wisdom to our Church in response to the honor that God has bestowed upon us. We will have a lot to share when the Church is willing to listen to us.
Deacon Ray Dever is a retired Catholic deacon and the father of an adult transgender woman. He is a frequent contributor on LGBTQ issues for various national publications, including Bondings 2.0, and Catholic organizations, including the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops:
Dignitas Infinita begins by beautifully expressing our belief in the unending dignity that all people have, but then effectively denies that dignity to transgender and gender diverse individuals. The author of the document and the five-year process that led to it show a persistent, unwavering inability to speak up for transgender people, scientists and academics who best understand them, and the medical industry that provides them with the gender-affirming care they need. Denying transgender people access to gender-affirming care would mean denying them any chance of living up to the human dignity that this document claims to uphold.
I don’t believe that care can literally be the difference between life and death for many transgender people, who have a suicide rate that is several times higher than the general population, based on my personal and pastoral experience. The sections of this document on “gender theory” and “sex change” are so uninformed and so far off the mark that I expect that they will be widely ignored by transgender individuals, their families, and their allies.
Mara Klein (they/them) is a nonbinary member of the German Catholic Church’s Synodal Path process and queer rights activist:
Unfortunately, this fresh statement on gender issues and gender diversity is in line with previous reports from the Vatican. Yet again, the many voices of trans people of faith, as well as contemporary sciences are ignored completely in favor of an outdated, heteronormative, and self-referential anthropology. For many trans people, gender-affirming surgery is life-saving. Transitioning has, in my own experience, made me more in tune with God and made it easier for me to love both myself and my neighbors more. It is cruel and dangerously ignorant to suggest that a transition would undermine our dignity, especially for those who are trapped between their love for the church and their love for the way that God created them. The underlying hypocrisy is further exposed when the opposition to gender-affirming care is juxtaposed with the approval of surgical procedures for intersex people, which, when performed without authorization, especially on minors, frequently result in enormous physical and psychological harm. After first reading, I am filled with sorrow for myself and my trans siblings worldwide. We are also dealing with a church that won’t listen and rejects the beauty of creation that can be seen in our life stories, adding to the growing hostility toward our communities.
Maxwell Kuzma, a transgender man who resides on a farm in rural Ohio, writes and speaks about affirming LGBTQ+ people’s dignity in all fields, but particularly in the Catholic church.
My main gripe with this document is the risky implication that medical professionals dispute the value of acknowledging the lived reality of transgender people and the social and medical transition’s benefits based on evidence. Many of the largely self-appointed “experts” who refute transgender perspectives have only conducted biased studies that yield false results. I’m also very concerned about how intersex issues were viewed as being “resolved,” which reveals a lack of interaction between the Vatican and actual intersex people.
I look forward to Pope Francis’ example of caring and supporting transgender people. I want to see him teach the transgender people in our respective communities how to treat them with respect, love, and support.
I’m a transgender man who has lived my entire life and considers my identity to be beautiful. The beauty of creation is revealed in the natural world as a result of God’s love for diversity, and specifically human diversity is a priceless gift that transcends gender stereotypes.
Benjamin Oh
Benjamin Oh (he/him) is Co-Chair of Equal Voices, the national Australian ecumenical LGBTIQA+ organization, and Chair of Rainbow Catholics Interagency Australia, a national body for LGBTIQA-affirming Catholic ministries:
The document clearly reveals the gap between the drafters’ knowledge and understanding of LGBTQ+ realities. What is most saddening, however, is the document’s lack of compassion for our trans, gender diverse and nonbinary siblings, demonstrated in how the authors write in dehumanizing, impersonal ways about that community, detached from their lived experiences. I am very concerned that this document will fuel more ignorance, violence, discrimination and abuse directed at LGBTQ+ people in our church and society, especially in communities where our trans, gender diverse, and nonbinary siblings are already attacked. This report appears to ignore another report that shows how transgender people are overrepresented in suicide accounts and poor health outcomes. Instead, we must acknowledge and celebrate our transgender and gender-neutral siblings’ dignity and incredible faith, a task that the document has fallen short of.
James Pawlowicz, a project manager, volunteer, and outdoor enthusiast, is following God’s mysterious call to a religious life in the church despite being transgender-inadmissible.
As a first impression, I found Dignitas Infinita disappointingly unoriginal, yet relievingly insipid. The pervasive theme of our interconnectedness, the impossible to realize our fullness of dignity in the image of God alone, and the discussion of “digital violence” were two of my favorites and will continue to inspire further reflection.
On the other hand,
the arguments around gender, as the product of five years of development by a Vatican dicastery, underwhelm. They do, however, leave me with two hints of hope. First, the DDF used pointedly soft, indirect language in describing their concerns with “sex change interventions:” they say that it “risks threatening the unique dignity” of the created person (emphasis added). A threat is a matter of possibility, not certainty. So, too, is a risk. In this, I sense a door not totally closed. Second, given what is contained in these paragraphs, I have a firm conviction and divine hope that truth will prevail. Although it may take some time, truth in the hand of love will overcome fear and ignorance if we continue to present the compelling evidence of science and the undeniable positive outcomes of our lives.
Victoria Rodriguez (she/her) is a trans mother with three kids and bisexual Catholic. She is involved with several Catholic LGBTQ+ groups in Spain and elsewhere, including Ichthys Sevilla, PADIS+G, CVX, Cursillos de cristiandad, and serves on the Global Network of Rainbow Catholics’ board of directors:
Unfortunately, a few of the document’s many positive aspects are overshadowed by a few very negative ones. The main issue is that church leaders don’t adhere to their own instructions. For example, paragraph 64 of this declaration echoes proposal 15k of the Synod Assembly’s report, which states that dialogue about controversial doctrine, like this one, “should also involve people directly affected by the matters under consideration”, which clearly have not been done.
If the authors had done so, they would be aware that transgender and nonbinary people are leading the lives that God intended for them. That God created them from the mothers’ wombs (Matt 19: 11-12), and that they are just trying to get the name God gave them. They would be aware of the many obstacles that make it difficult for trans people to transition their gender despite the fact that they are aware of how difficult it is for them to do so. They also know that God alone is able to help them overcome all the obstacles.
The statement made by St. Catherine of Siena,” Be whoever God wants you to be, and you will set the world on fire,” could not be more accurate. It was made in reference to trans people who were just living the life that God intended for them. The events in Dignitas Infinita serve as important reminders of why we need to start addressing the many misunderstood issues that surround LGBTQI people within the Church. The Church would have never made a mistake like this one if those dialogues had existed. The Church itself deserves better by being more faithful to its teachings, not just trans and nonbinary people, who deserve better treatment. Catholics deserve a Church where, as Pope Francis says, “everyone, everyone, everyone” can feel accepted and in dignity. I pray that the Church can and will do better.
A Catholic trans man currently pursuing his M.A. in Pastoral Care at Fordham University in New York, with the intention of supporting queer people of faith through encounter and dialogue, and a member of New Ways Ministry’s Advisory Board:
Dignitas Infinita was released on the Feast of the Annunciation—a significance that cannot be ignored. Hearing of God’s favor, transgender Catholics, in the same vein as Mary, might tremble in disbelief. Deemed unworthy by our respective societies, God chooses us. Mary is faced with an impossible situation. Answering God’s call doesn’t alleviate her fear, rather her leap of faith cultivates hope. Faith might seem impossible at this very moment. Christ is still present, beckoning us to follow him. He waits because he has always remained with us. When you quietly came out to yourself, Jesus heard and held you. He listened to every name you considered. On the day you take hormones, Christ directs your hands. Every bloody operation with gender affirming surgery is healed by Jesus. He rejoices in our care which honors our holy authenticity. The hope of Christ is embodied in our faith. Rejoice in the arms of God, who values our dignity and favors us. God, who calls us to holy hope and authenticity, says nothing that is impossible.
Yunuen Trujillo (she/her) is author of LGBT Catholics: A Guide for Inclusive Ministry, Religious Formation Coordinator (Spanish) for the Catholic Ministry with Lesbian and Gay Persons for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and a member of New Ways Ministry’s Advisory board:
On LGBTQ issues, Dignitas Infinita falls short. The statement that the human dignity principle applies to all people regardless of sexual orientation is unambiguous and untrue ignores the fact that it also applies to all people regardless of gender identity. One thing is made clear by this omission: it is obvious that there is a lack of understanding of the concepts of gender and gender identity. It fails to acknowledge the mere existence of trans people by lumping all LGBTQ people under the sexual orientation umbrella. In this regard, Dignitas Infinita clearly shows what many of us know: the Church’s understanding of gender identity is heavily underdeveloped.
—Robert Shine (he/him), New Ways Ministry, April 10, 2024
