Went to mass today...

“One secondary school in London sent children home with a fuzzy letter about being kind to those whom God has given the wrong bodies”

Surely this is blasphemy? Seriously, I haven’t been to mass in years but this made my jaw drop! Have these idiots explained to God that his mistakes are being noticed and he’d better stop slacking off if he wants to keep his divine status?

I went to a wedding the other day and the husband was reminded that he was not in charge!!

Catholic church doesn't say you have to obey your husband. There are some biblical literalists across all types of Christianity that take androcentric musings from Ancient Israel as fully applicable to modern life. The rest of us take a more nuanced view.

Well, no, I don't think that's really accurate FWR. I think they would say there are certain sex roles that are natural, though they also give a fair bit of room for people to live outside of those.

Catholic Church thinks that sex = gender. That is, sex stereotypes are natural and proper and should be followed, generally speaking. Obey husband etc.

@Serenschintte I don't see how they could. They would be well known by their parish priest, vocations team, and bishop. They have to have psychometric testing before they are accepted and seminary is 7 years in a residential college.

No a trans man cannot be a priest. I asked my friend who is an archbishop about it once. He said he'd be prepared to go to prison for refusing it to allow it.

reminds me of the myth of Pope Joan

Hope you enjoyed the feast of the Holy Family

Pope Francis released a teaching guide in June 2018 called “Male and Female he created them” which is all about gender ideology - rejecting it, which upset the trans lobby. Especially as it was released in Pride month!

A transman wouldn’t be accepted for ordination though I know many priests are concerned that if they ask engaged couples about their birth sex or if they decline to marry a couple on these grounds that they will be done for hate speech.

While the Vatican talks the right talk on this, sadly Stonewall has managed to influence the Catholic Education Service in the UK and the CES will not give Catholic schools any official advice or guidelines about trans pupils, instead referring them other secular schools to copy “best practice”. Therefore you cannot be confident that your child will not have to share toilets/changing rooms in a Catholic school.

One secondary school in London sent children home with a fuzzy letter about being kind to those whom God has given the wrong bodies and I’m hearing from a number of concerned, disgruntled parents about the gender nonsense being taught to their kids in Catholic schools.

Sure @bingowingsmcgee

The CofE already has Trans priests.

Also loving OPs username I am now imagining Helga in Allo Allo shouting General Von Klinkerhoffen!

Transmen definitely cant become RC priests. The church would still see them as female and thats a big no no.

Pope Francis has ruffled feathers by being tolerant about homosexuality but he is still adamant that women cant become priests.

The Catholic church also wouldn't take a transwoman as a priest because trying to change sex is against nature (for the same reason they are against IVF).

Also caring about external appearances is not part of the job description. I think to be a priest its a pretty big sacrifice becoming celibate and dedicated to service of God and the church.

Don't know about CofE, they are pretty keen on being woke.

diane can I msg you a couple of theology questions? No worries if not x

Not quite true Seren - I'm technically excommunicated as I joined another religious group (Quakers). It's called excommunication in the "internal forum". As distinct from in the "external forum" - ie when the pope decrees it.

It applies when you do something that is so contrary to canon law (which I studied at Uni for 3yrs) that you put yourself outside the RC community and you should not take communion (excommunicated). Formally renouncing your Catholicism and joining someone else achieves that.

Any of my priest friends who gave me communion would be breaking canon law and technically in trouble.

Not that I'd want to take communion as it means nothing to me and I'm not a RC.

#nopedefinitelynotacatholic

Essentially, men can become women and have access to everything women have because Trans Women Are Women.

But women can't become men and do things like become priests or leapfrog their brothers to inherit the stately pile because some naughty women might take advantage of it and pretend to be trans just for the privileges.

Men wouldn't do that, obviously.

Once a Catholic always a Catholic- Baptism is an indelible mark on the soul that cannot be washed away. It’s a club that you cannot leave

The Vatican recently issued a statement saying that gender ideology is opposed to both "faith and reason". catholicherald.co.uk/news/2019/06/12/us-and-english-bishops-welcome-vatican-document-on-gender-ideology/ I'm an ex RC, but have degrees in theology and used to teach REvin RC schools. There is much to criticise in the RCC and I'm happy to have left it - but it's only fair to acknowledge that it actually says some very sensible things at times about issues such as social justice and now gender.

Of course if they'd listened to some radical feminists they'd have got the sex/gender thing correct in the document - but we all left the RCC decades ago.

Confession once a year, yes. Attendance at Mass is supposed to be every week, either Saturday evening or any Sunday mass. The yearly component of Mass is that you're supposed to receive communion if in a state of grace, at least once a year.

Disclaimer: I am a bad Catholic and went to and obligatory mass for the first time in some months on the third Sunday in Advent. I am a passable Catholic because I didn't receive communion as i hadn't been to Confession in the interim.

I am still a Catholic, though, and one of the reasons is that, despite the shitey misogyny, there's still a good chunk of Catholic teaching that upholds material reality and human dignity, and I'll take snatches of sanity where I can find them atm.

No a trans man can't be a Roman Catholic priest.
( I should think, and might be wrong on this, that in theory there would be nothing stopping a trans woman becoming one, but in reality they would not be seen as a suitable candidate for ordination and so would not be accepted,)

The Church, and the Catholic one especially, is one of the main driving forces behind the oppression of women over the centuries.
But if they believe sex and gender are different....strange bedfellows.

I wonder if that means a trans woman can be a priest since they are biologically male?