Pope Francis confirms trans people can be baptised, act as godparents

Pope Francis has stated that trans people may be baptised and act as godparents or witnesses to marriage under the same conditions as any other adult.

Responding to dubia (aka a request for clarity from the Vatican), the pontiff confirmed that adults who identify as trans may partake in all of the above Catholic practices, so long as there is no risk of causing scandal.

Additionally, he noted, children and adolescents who are beginning to identify as transgender may also be baptised if they are “well prepared and willing.”

This announcement from Pope Francis was just one response to a number of questions posed to the Vatican by Bishop José Negri of Santo Amaro, Brazil, who was unsure of the “possible participation in baptism and weddings by transexual persons and homo-affective persons.”