Pope Francis approved a Vatican document which states that transgender individuals may be baptized within the church on Oct. 31, 2023. This document was originally a response to the question posed by Brazilian bishop Jose Negri of Santo Amaro, but finally released to the public on Nov. 8, 2023, according to npr.org.

Although he has made clear his opposition to same-sex marriage, the Pope has been reaching out to Catholics who identify within the LGBTQ community for a while, as one of his main goals of his Papacy is to create a more inclusive church. The allowance of transgender people to be baptized, become godparents and be witnesses of church weddings all furthers this vision of inclusivity, according to nytimes.com.

Despite this outreach to LGBTQ Catholics, the Pope has not changed church teaching which declares homosexual acts as “intrinsically disordered,” as stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Vatican has made a statement that the approval of the document simply clarified church teachings, not bringing an active change to policy, according to nytimes.com.

The document approving the baptism of transgender people explains that the process of baptism has indelible character, regardless of any sins of the person receiving it. The document also reiterates the Pope’s belief held throughout his papacy that the church is not a “tollhouse,” therefore the door of baptism should not be closed to anyone, according to npr.org.

The document was not offering approval or disapproval of the idea of gender identity however. Pope Francis himself has described the concept of gender theory, including transgender individuals, as a form of “ideological colonization.” The document further clarifies that the baptism of transgender people should not cause scandal, as a scandal “damages virtue and integrity,” leading fellow Catholics into “spiritual death,” as stated in Roman Catholic theology, according to npr.org.