As a gay man, I was shocked and saddened by the Holy Father's reported use of an offensive slur during a discussion with Italian bishops.

While ostensibly justifying a policy of refusing to accept gay men into seminaries, the pope reportedly stated that there was too much "frociaggine" in seminaries.

Let's be clear about the slur that was used so we also understand the controversy.

The word is an offensive term often employed in a pejorative/derogatory manner to refer to gay men, one vulgar enough not to be translated here.

Apology

In response, the Vatican stated that that the pope was aware of these reports.

While not directly confirming that the pontiff used the offensive word, the Vatican stated:

"The pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he apologises to those who felt offended by the use of a term, as reported by others."

I welcome the pope's apology.

I am relieved that he did not intend any offense.

But any fair observer must conclude that this incident has severely compromised his historic outreach and unprecedented openness to members of the L.G.B.T.Q. community.

Intent vs. impact

To understand the magnitude of the pope's use of the slur, we must make a distinction between the intent and the impact of his words.

Some seek to downplay all of this as only a matter of an unfortunate choice of words or a careless use of colloquial language.

Others view this as nothing more than an elderly man's imprecise grasp of a language that is not his native tongue.

But others point out that the pope has been speaking Italian since his childhood.

All of this may be true.

But regardless of the speaker's intent, such language is dehumanising.

Slurs and offensive names are perhaps too easily dismissed by those who are not their targets.

But make no mistake: Derogatory slurs dehumanise sexual minorities.

They call our humanity into question.

Moreover, the harm goes beyond those who were directly offended by the pope's homophobic slur.

The pope's use of such language gives support to public policies that endanger the lives of sexual minorities around the world.

Those who seek to exclude gay, lesbian and trans people from social life and juridical protection can - and will - take comfort and solace from the Holy Father's words.

Infinite dignity

Yes, I know that Pope Francis has called for the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

Yet his use of offensive terminology cannot but undercut his message that all possess an "infinite dignity" that should be respected by all. More than an apology is needed. Read more

• Bryan Massingale is a professor of theological and social ethics at Fordham University in New York. He is the author of Racial Justice and the Catholic Church (Orbis, 2010).

It tackles complicated moral ideas, many of them further complicated by current political debates.

But many commentaries misunderstand what the Vatican presented, or tried to present, in keeping with the philosophical and theological underpinnings of Catholic teachings, and the complexity of the document belies its intent.

The back story

Here is the back story: In 2019 — on the Ides of March, as it happens — the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith decided to write on the dignity of the person.

Or, as the doctrinal office explained back then, it had decided on drafting:

a text highlighting the indispensable nature of the dignity of the human person in Christian anthropology and illustrating the significance and beneficial implication of the concept in the social, political, and economic realms —

while also taking into account the latest developments on the subject in academic and the ambivalent ways in which the concept is understood today.

Not exactly an engaging start.

As it appeared five years later, on April 8, the document delivered on that promise to explain the Catholic teaching that "the dignity of every human being can be understood as ‘infinite.'"

That's it.

The hair-splitting commentaries that followed, however, focused on three things: What comprises "dignity"? Who, exactly, is a "human being"? And how long is "infinite"?

Freedom and rights

Human freedom and personal rights are central to the church's teachings.

But if that is the case, ask the naysayers, why are people not free to exercise their personal rights? That is, why does the church seek to curtail certain acts and certain ways of living?

That is where things get dicey.

Catholic moral theology is based on the ethical and philosophical theory of natural law. At its most basic, natural law demands doing good over evil.

But not everyone agrees on what is good and what is evil.

Some things are obviously evil — say, murder and genocide. Also, mutilation and torture. And slavery, sexual abuse and general degradation of persons in any of a thousand ways. Poverty. War. Human trafficking.

But some of the items on the Vatican's list of evils — abortion, surrogacy, euthanasia and assisted suicide — collide with political discussions happening all over the world.

The Catholic Church defines these acts as denials of freedom and human dignity.

Each begins and ends with the destruction of an independent human life — directly through abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide, indirectly with surrogacy, which the document says robs women of dignity by turning their procreative power into a commodity.

It often involves destruction of "extra" embryos.

Each is a variation of self-interest and, ultimately, selfishness.

The document then switches gears, defending persons with disabilities and those with differing sexual orientations, insisting that the inherent dignity of each person must be respected without discrimination or violence.

The document's most controversial sections use the term "gender theory," but not "LGBTQ," in itself controversial. But its terminology does not deviate from its insistence on dignity for everyone.

A formal Vatican document could never use "LGBTQ," simply because the term covers a range of statuses and behaviors — each letter stands for a distinct way of being.

Which leads to perhaps the most controversial of sections: sex change.

The Vatican flatly states that "the dignity of the body cannot be considered inferior to that of the person as such."

What is missing in most commentaries is the concluding section on "digital violence," which may in fact be precursor to another, as-yet-unwritten document on artificial intelligence.

The digital violence section notes the necessary evils of fake news, slander, cyberbullying, pornography, even gambling. Any can destroy a person. All are affronts to human dignity.

Different views

"Dignitas Infinita" collects and categorises the affronts to human dignity and calls out the movements in modern society that ignore their dangers.

Not everyone will agree, and too many will ignore the straight lines that connect each topic.

In the end, the naysayers argue that "dignity" means doing what you want, when you want, how you want.

They do not agree on who is a "human being."

They forget that "infinite" means absolute.

• First published in Religion News Service
• Phyllis Zagano is an author at Religion News Service.

This is a setback for transgender people who had hoped Pope Francis might be setting the stage for a more welcoming approach from the Catholic Church.

World Religions

Around the world, major religions have diverse approaches to gender identity, and the inclusion or exclusion of transgender people.

Some examples:

Christianity

The Catholic Church's disapproving stance toward gender transition is shared by some other denominations.

For example, the Southern Baptist Convention - the largest Protestant denomination in the United States - adopted a resolution in 2014 stating that "God's design was the creation of two distinct and complementary sexes, male and female."

It asserts that gender identity "is determined by biological sex, not by one's self-perception"

However, numerous mainline Protestant denominations welcome trans people as members and as clergy.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America elected an openly transgender man as a bishop in 2021.

Islam

In Islam, there isn't a single central religious authority and policies can vary in different regions.

Abbas Shouman, secretary-general of Al-Azhar's Council of Senior Scholars in Cairo, said that "for us, … sex conversion is completely rejected.

"It is God who has determined the … sex of the fetus and intervening to change that is a change of God's creation, which is completely rejected," Shouman added.

In Iran, the Shiite theocracy's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a religious decree, or fatwa, decades ago, opening the way for official support for gender transition surgery.

Hinduism

In Hindu society in South Asia, while traditional roles were and are still prescribed for men and women, people of non-binary gender expression have been recognised for millennia and played important roles in holy texts.

Third gender people have been revered throughout South Asian history with many rising to significant positions of power under Hindu and Muslim rulers.

One survey in 2014 estimated that around 3 million third gender people live in India alone.

Sanskrit, the ancient language of Hindu scriptures, has the vocabulary to describe three genders - masculine, feminine and gender-neutral.

The most common group of third gender people in India are known as the "hijras." While some choose to undergo gender reassignment surgery, others are born intersex. Most consider themselves neither male or female.

Some Hindus believe third gender people have special powers and the ability to bless or curse, which has led to stereotyping causing the community to be feared and marginalised.

Many live in poverty without proper access to healthcare, housing and employment.

In 2014, India, Nepal and Bangladesh, which is a Muslim-majority country, officially recognised third gender people as citizens deserving of equal rights.

The Supreme Court of India stated that "it is the right of every human being to choose their gender," and that recognition of the group "is not a social or medical issue, but a human rights issue."

Buddhism

Buddhism has traditionally adhered to binary gender roles, particularly in its monastic traditions where men and women are segregated and assigned specific roles.

These beliefs remain strong in the Theravada tradition, as seen in the attempt of the Thai Sangha Council, the governing Buddhist body in Thailand, to ban ordinations of transgender people.

More recently, the Theravada tradition has somewhat eased restrictions against gender nonconforming people by ordaining them in their sex recorded at birth.

However, the Mahayana, and Vajrayana schools of Buddhism have allowed more exceptions while the Jodo Shinshu sect has been even more inclusive in ordaining transgender monks both in Japan and North America.

In Tibetan Buddhism, Tashi Choedup, an openly queer monk, was ordained after their teacher refrained from asking about their gender identity as prescribed by Buddhist doctrine.

Many Buddhist denominations, particularly in the West, are intentionally inclusive of transgender people in their sanghas or gatherings.

Judaism

Reform Judaism is accepting of transgender people and allows for the ordination of trans rabbis.

According to David J. Meyer, who served for many years as a rabbi in Marblehead, Massachusetts, Jewish traditional wisdom allowed possibilities of gender identity and expression that differed from those typically associated with the sex assigned at birth.

"Our mystical texts, the Kabbalah, address the notion of transitioning from one gender to another," he wrote on a Reform-affiliated website.

It's different, for the most part, in Orthodox Judaism.

"Most transgender people will find Orthodox communities extremely difficult to navigate," says the Human Rights Campaign, a major U.S. LGBTQ-rights advocacy group.

"Transgender people are further constrained by Orthodox Judaism's emphasis on binary gender and strict separation between men and women," the HRC says.

"For example, a transgender person who has not medically transitioned poses a challenge for a rabbi who must decide whether that person will sit with men or women during worship."

Rabbi Avi Shafran, spokesman for the Orthodox Jewish organization Agudath Israel of America, wrote a blog post last year after appearing on an Israeli television panel to discuss transgender-related issues.

"There can be no denying that there are people who are deeply conflicted about their gender identities.

"They deserve to be safe from harm and, facing challenges the rest of us don't, deserve empathy and compassion," Shafran wrote.

"But the Torah and its extension, halacha, or Jewish religious law, are unequivocal about the fact that being born in a male body requires living the life of a man, and being born female entails living as a woman."

"In Judaism, each gender has its particular life-role to play," he added.

"The bodies God gave us are indications of what we are and what we are not, and of how He wants us to live our lives."

• First published in Religion News Service
• David Crary is an author at Religion News Service. Mariam Fam and Deepa Bharath are reporters with The Associated Press' global religion team.

Some Catholics support Infinite Dignity's message. Others are dismayed.

Surrogate born woman against "womb renting"

A woman born in 1991 via a surrogate mother, who is now a leading campaigner for the abolition of "womb renting", is of a like mind to Francis regarding surrogacy.

It's a practice the Pope has called "deplorable".

The negative sides of surrogate pregnancies aren't made well known, says Olivia Maurel. It's totally unethical in her book.

"We're used to having in the news a lot of beautiful stories of children born via surrogacy … and we are not used to hearing the bad aspects of surrogacy and how it's totally unethical" Maurel told CNA in an interview on 5 April.

It led her to experience abandonment trauma, identity issues, and to make several suicide attempts.

"I was a product of surrogacy and I've always felt it inside me — a baby made to order, a commodity for money" she said.

It's totally unethical in her opinion.

Vatican view

On Monday the Vatican declared gender-affirming surgery and surrogacy as grave violations of human dignity.

These practices are on par with abortion and euthanasia as practices which reject God's plan for human life, the Vatican says.

The Vatican's doctrine office, with the Pope's approval, issued "Infinite Dignity" on 25 March. It is a 20-page declaration that has been in the works for five years.

The Vatican repeated its rejection of "gender theory" - the idea that one's biological sex can change.

God created man and woman as biologically different, separate beings, and people must not tinker with that or try to "make oneself God" the document says.

"It follows that any sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception."

The document distinguishes between gender-affirming surgeries, which it rejected, and "genital abnormalities" that are present at birth or develop later.

Those abnormalities can be "resolved" with the help of health care professionals, the document says.

Transgender community distressed

Feedback from transgender Catholics shows they are disappointed with the new Vatican document.

That's because in essence, Infinite Dignity is as a restatement of longstanding Catholic teaching.

Transgender Catholics are particularly dismayed however, as recent moves by Pope Francis had encouraged some to hope the Church might become more accepting.

"A document like this is very hurtful to the larger LGBTQ+ community but especially to the trans community" one lifelong Catholic transgender man says,

"We have seen the care and love Pope Francis has personally extended to the trans community in his personal interactions, yet this document fails to extend that same respect, love and support."

Source

• AP News
• Catholic News Agency
• AP News