Catholic Culture, Phil Lawler:
Today’s news that the Vatican has approved the baptism of transsexuals bears all the earmarks of the current papacy. The statement from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith does not directly contradict prior authoritative statements of Church doctrine or discipline. But it gives every indication that pastors who ignore the rules will have nothing to fear from Rome.
The statement, issued in October by Cardinal Victor Fernandez, also gives the Catholic world another indication of what we can expect from the Vatican’s doctrinal office, now that the Pope’s favorite theologian is in charge. Cardinal Fernandez has been busy during his first weeks in his new office. Careful Vatican observers saw the Argentine cardinal’s all over the recent papal document, Ad Theologiam Promovendam, calling for a “paradigm shift” in Catholic theological studies. The new doctrinal czar has a clear mandate from the Pope to shake up the theological world— to “make a mess,” in the parlance of this papacy— and he is already hard at work. Report is here.
