The Pope has condemned gender reassignment surgery, saying it represents a “grave threat to the dignity of a person”.
In a text dubbed “Dignitas Infinita” (Infinite Dignity), the Vatican said that “any sex change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception”.
The 20-page declaration, which was signed by Pope Francis, reaffirmed the Catholic Church’s long-held opposition to abortion and euthanasia, as well as stressed its rejection of gender theory.
It said God created man and woman as biologically different and that people must not interfere with that plan or try to “make oneself God”.
Pope Francis has slammed transgender surgery as it represents a 'grave threat to the dignity of a person'
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The declaration, which took five years to draw up, said that surgery to resolve “genital abnormalities” was permissible, however emphasised that “such a medical procedure would not constitute a sex change in the sense intended here”.
The Pope has previously been criticised by Catholic conservatives for his apparent liberal stance on gender issues.
In December, Pope Francis approved new rules to allow priests to bless same-sex couples, a significant advance for LGBT people in the Roman Catholic Church. The ruling was seen as the Vatican taking a more liberal stance towards gay Catholics, which has been adopted by Pope Francis since his election in 2013.
Some have argued that the milestone decision by the Vatican directly contradicted the church’s stance on gay marriage and homosexuality, and the ruling showed that the Catholic Church was softening its position on the matter.
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In the document published on April 8, the Vatican comes to the defence of gay Catholics and criticises the criminalisation of homosexuality in some countries.
“It should be denounced as contrary to human dignity the fact that, in some places, not a few people are imprisoned, tortured, and even deprived of the good of life solely because of their sexual orientation,” it said.
Last year, the Pope also said that transgender people could be baptised in the Catholic Church as long as doing so did not cause scandal or “confusion”.
However, the Pope has previously called gender theory an “ugly ideology” that is the “worst danger” facing humanity today.
The Pope has previously called gender theory an 'ugly ideology'
ReutersThe Catholic Church also reiterated its tough stance on the topics of surrogacy, abortion and euthanasia. The declaration said surrogate parenting violates the dignity of both the surrogate mother and the child, urging a global ban.
Their gender theory stance was slammed by some LGBT groups. Francis DeBernardo, the executive director of New Ways Ministry, an American organisation that campaigns for gay Catholics, said: “The Vatican is again supporting and propagating ideas that lead to real physical harm to transgender, non-binary and other LGBTQ+ people.”
He added that the text demonstrated a “stunning lack of awareness of the actual lives of transgender and non-binary people”.
Mara Klein, a nonbinary, transgender activist, said: “The suggestion that gender-affirming healthcare — which has saved the lives of so many wonderful trans people and enabled them to live in harmony with their bodies, their communities and (God) — might risk or diminish trans people’s dignity is not only hurtful but dangerously ignorant.”