LGBTQ rights campaigners welcomed a Vatican statement that transgender people can be baptized as a step towards a more inclusive Catholic Church, but denounced caveats that provide cover to those who object.
In a document published on Wednesday, the powerful Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, one of the main departments that manages the affairs of the Holy See, said transgender believers can be baptized if it would not cause scandal or confusion.
The document, written in response to questions from a Brazilian bishop and approved by Pope Francis, also raised no objections to baptism for the children of same-sex couples, either adopted or born through surrogacy.
In reality, such baptisms already occur in different dioceses around the world.
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