The Vatican’s doctrinal office issued “Infinite Dignity,” a 20-page declaration that has been in the works for five years. After substantial revision in recent months, it was approved on March 25 by Pope Franciswho ordered its publication.
The Vatican reiterated its rejection of the “gender theory,” or the idea that one’s gender can be changed. He said that God created man and woman as biologically different, separate beings, and said that they should not tamper with that design or try to “make themselves God.”
“It follows that any gender reassignment intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity that the individual has received from the moment of conception,” the document states.
He distinguished between sex-affirming surgeries, which he rejected, and “birth defects” that are present at birth or develop later. These abnormalities can be “fixed” with the help of health professionals, he said.
The existence of the document, rumored since 2019, was confirmed in recent weeks by the new prefect for the Doctrine of the Faith, Argentine Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, a close confidant of Pope Francis.
He had said it in a nod to conservatives after writing a more explosive document endorsing blessings for same-sex couples that sparked criticism from conservative bishops around the world, especially in Africa.
And while it rejects the gender theory, the document takes aim at countries – including many in Africa – that criminalize homosexuality. He echoed Francis’ claim in a 2023 interview with The Associated Press that “being gay is not a crime,” making the claim now part of Vatican doctrinal teaching.
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