Transgender Educator Granted Audience with Pope

George White, a 31-year-old transgender religious education teacher from Leicester, has met with Pope Francis. Mr. White, who teaches at St Paul’s Catholic School in Evington, was part of a delegation of transgender men who met the pontiff at the Vatican on October 23. Mr. White explained that their visit was arranged after an inclusivity conference within the church, where he encountered other transgender individuals who, like him, were interested in pursuing the Catholic priesthood. He stated: “I think being able to visibly see that trans men are there with Pope Francis means that we have a place, that we are welcome and that our stories are worth sharing.” In 2023, Pope Francis indicated that transgender people could be baptized, provided it did not lead to scandal or “confusion.” Furthermore, the Vatican issued a document in April, titled Dignitas Infinita, which underscored the intrinsic link between body and soul and asserted that sex-change intervention “risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception.” Mr. White commented: “Although very little has changed in terms of our doctrine, the pastoral approach from Pope Francis has been drastically different to that which we have seen ever before. “He has invited transgender people to receive the Covid vaccine; he has gifted funds to communities and he has invited us to be visibly present at his audience. “I think it’s very brave and commendable, but I think it’s the right thing to do.” Camillo Barone, a journalist for the National Catholic Reporter publication, observed that the experiences of Catholic transgender individuals “greatly vary” depending on their country of residence. He elaborated: “Although church doctrine is one centralised and decided in Rome at the Vatican, much depends on how local churches then assimilate these teachings.” Barone added: “According to what has been written in [Dignitas Infinita], transgender people cannot live in the Catholic church as transgender people because gender transition surgeries, according to the church doctrine, is to be considered as intrinsically disordered.” However, Mr. Barone noted that Pope Francis, the current head of the church, has “welcomed a large number of trans people” for both public and private engagements. He emphasized: “So it’s very important to say that unlike the other Popes, Francis at least is listening to the LGBTQ Catholic community.” He continued: “He talks to them, he exchanges letters, and especially in all these exchanges, he always says ‘please don’t leave the church, stay with us’.” Deacon Seamus O’Looskan, 52, the chaplain at St Paul’s Catholic School, remarked: “In my opinion, we are a church that should be open to people and a church which welcomes everybody, and actually, in life, people need to understand who they are and to be able to work out their own story, and that’s what the church should be able to provide for people.” He concluded: “Taking theological arguments out of it, Pope Francis is very clear that we are to encourage and welcome everybody.”