Transgender people can be baptized in the Catholic Church and serve as godparents.
An official Vatican document published Wednesday builds on Pope Francis' support for LGBTQ+ people, who have faced marginalization from the church.
The three-page document states that a transgender person - including those who have undergone hormonal treatment and gender 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."
According to the document, Pope Francis wanted to underline that baptism "is the door that allows Christ the Lord to establish himself in our person," and that "not even the doors of the Sacraments should be closed for any reason."
Similarly, the Vatican said a transgender person can be admitted to the role of godfather or godmother -- as long as it does not cause "risk of scandal, undue legitimation or disorientation" among other Catholics.
The document, signed on Oct. 23 by the pope and Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, was in response to questions submitted to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith by Bishop Jose Negri of Santo Amaro, Brazil in July.
The Vatican addressed several other questions in the document. It said children of homosexual couples can be baptized; a transsexual person can serve as a witness to a marriage;
Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and advocate for greater LGBTQ acceptance in the church, called the move "historic."
"This is an important step forward in the church seeing transgender people not only as people (in a church where some say they don't really exist) but as Catholics," Martin posted on X.
Although the church is becoming more welcoming to LGBTQ people, doctrines rejecting same-sex marriage and sexual activity remain firmly in place. In March, the Vatican declared that Catholic priests cannot bless same-sex unions because God "does not and cannot bless sin."
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