Transsexuals can be baptized Catholic, serve as godparents, Vatican says

Pope Francis leads the weekly general audience in Saint Peter's Square, at the Vatican, November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/file photo

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Transsexuals can be godparents at Roman Catholic baptisms, witnesses at religious weddings and receive baptism themselves, the Vatican's doctrinal office said on Wednesday, responding to questions from a bishop.

The department, known as the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith, was vague however, in response to a question of whether a same-sex couple could have a Church baptism for an adopted child or one obtained through a surrogate mother.