The Vatican proclaimed Thursday that transgender people and the children of gay couples may be baptized into the Catholic faith—and serve as Godparents to other Catholics. It’s the latest in a string of decisions spearheaded by Pope Francis to promote greater acceptance of LGBTQ+ people. “A transsexual—even one who has undergone hormonal treatment and sex reassignment surgery—can receive baptism, under the same conditions as other believers, if there are no situations in which there is a risk of generating public scandal or disorientation in the faithful,” the Vatican’s statement, the church’s first on the matter, read.
