Transgender Catholics — as well as a priest who welcomes them to his parish — expressed disappointment Monday with a new Vatican document rejecting the fundamental concept of changing one’s biological sex.

In essence, it was a restatement of longstanding Catholic teaching, but the dismay was heightened because recent moves by Pope Francis had encouraged some trans Catholics to hope the church might become more accepting.

The pope has welcomed a community of transgender women to his weekly general audiences. And last year, the Vatican said it’s permissible, under certain circumstances, for trans people to be baptized as Catholics and serve as godparents.

“A document like this is very hurtful to the larger LGBTQ+ community but especially to the trans community,” said Maxwell Kuzma, 32, a lifelong Catholic transgender man working as a film editor and writer in rural Ohio.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    The Vatican document was compiled by a committee of celibate feudal lords wearing archaic robes and signed and endorsed by their celibate king, wearing his silly hat in his magnificent palace, and declaring it all to be the direct word of their god.

    I don’t think they understand anyone’s lives.

    Have you seen who guards the Pope? These are not people who live in the real world.

    • candybrie@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      Ah yeah, the trans community. Totally didn’t already know they were generally not accepted by Abrahamic religions. Weren’t just given a tiny glimmer of hope to desperately hang on to that they might be accepted. Also are Catholic because Catholicism hurts the right people.

    • Urist@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      9 months ago

      …don’t you think this is a little dismissive? Maybe I’m wrong but most people are catholic because they were raised that way.

      It sure would suck if something I had no control over excluded me from my own culture/religion/family. In fact, if I found myself in that situation, the right thing to do would be to make changes, if I could, for other people like me and those people’s families.

      By the way, I do think religion as an institution sucks. But, I don’t think these people are supporting face-eating leopards. These people live in the jungle already, their choice is to leave or fight leopards.

      • xkforce@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        “I was raised that way” is an excuse that holds no water. Trans people were raised to believe that they were their sex assigned at birth and they came to the conclusion that that didnt fit them. They can re-evaluate other beliefs just the same.

      • Traister101@lemmy.today
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        9 months ago

        They were born into a family who supports face eating leopards. That sucks! But now as an adult they’ve continued to support the face eating leopards. Sure being indoctrinated into a religion is a tough thing to break out of… but when you are being attacked by the very people who indoctrinated you it should rapidly become obvious they don’t have your best interest at heart.

    • Optional@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      To be fair (🎵to be faiiiiiiiiiirr . . ) Jesus never said anything about trans people, and the Talmud (which Jesus was ostensibly a big fan of) has eight - count 'em eight - specific genders already specified and ready to go.

      So really it’s the Catholic Church who’s not understanding - very possibly intentionally. But there we go. SSDD.

      FWIW I think Francis got a good old fashioned political situation handed to him and, for whatever it was worth to him, caved.

  • gimpchrist @lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Man… this is like a black person trying to be a legitimate member of the kkk… ‘…but I believe in most of the same things as you guys! Why do you guys want to lynch me too?! I’m so confused!!!’

    • ImADifferentBird@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      9 months ago

      I know Dave Chapelle is a shithead now, but I can’t help but think of the Chapelle Show sketch about the blind black Klansman who doesn’t know he’s black.

      • mycathas9lives@mastodon.social
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        9 months ago

        @ImADifferentBird @gimpchrist

        Kanye West is an openly black white supremacist and he is not the first. The first openly black white supremacist was a person named William Hannibal Thomas, who wrote The American Negro in 1901, a loathsome work that was so derogatory towards blacks that white supremacists of that time used his writings to support their claims about the inferiority of blacks.

      • Optional@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        Dave’s not a shithead. Watch the specials. He doesn’t say any of the things he’s accused of - in context.

        People who don’t watch the specials are who are up in arms about it. (not to make this a is-he-or-isn’t-he subthread)

        • gimpchrist @lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          I wanted to make this point but I’ve been ruthlessly downvoted and now I don’t want to talk at all on news posts haha so thanks for bringing that part up

    • Jojo, Lady of the West@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      9 months ago

      I mean I guess the difference is that the stated goal of the KKK is white supremacy, while the stated goal of the Catholic Church certainly isn’t cis-hetero-normativity. That’s just a fun side product.

    • Retrograde@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      It would seem that the face eating leopards are very inclusive and will eat your face regardless of what you identify as

  • xkforce@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    I will never understand how LGBTQIA people can remain religious after reading the bible. It literally tells people to stone you to death with big fucking rocks.

    • DragonTypeWyvern@literature.cafe
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      9 months ago

      Or women picking and choosing what parts of the Old Testament to use as weapons against others

      At least straight men could be argued to have self interest involved, but even then it’s absurd what rules it sets.

  • dogslayeggs@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    I’m shocked, shocked I say, that the people who live in their own religious state that is walled off from the world and has been there for a thousand years don’t have an understanding of the lives of modern people.

    • RatBin@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      Walled off…? You really need to see for yourself the true extent of the vatican kingdom, not counting its history and the meaning of it. I’ll go as far as saying that as long as there is a Catholic institution somewhere in the world, that is where the subtle power of the vatican goes.

  • stanleytweedle@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    I completely get how LGBTQ people are drawn to Jesus’ message of peace and forgiveness so I can see why they’d want to be included in ‘Christianity’, but I don’t get why they’d care about being Catholic.

    If you’re raised Catholic and think that’s the only way into heaven and then find out that way doesn’t include you- maybe rethink the initial assumption.

  • Rykzon@discuss.tchncs.de
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    9 months ago

    It’s pretty easy, they should just create some sort of conversion therapy, it’s not like you are born like that and there is 0 biological reason or proof for that sort of condition. I mean it’s pretty easy to choose any other spiritual outlet or meaning to life than religion.