The Vatican's stand on gender-affirming care

What happened

The Vatican published a document on Monday titled "Dignitas Infinita" (Infinite Dignity) enumerating "grave violations of human dignity." Examples in the declaration include "gender theory" and surgically changing a person's sex.

Who said what

Changing one's biological sex "risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception," the Vatican said. While "biological sex and the sociocultural role of sex (gender) can be distinguished," they cannot be "separated."

The commentary

The "culture war issues" that Pope Francis previously "largely avoided" are "not necessarily new,” said The New York Times, but this document will "be embraced by conservatives." That the declaration does not use the word "transgender" itself "speaks to limiting the dignity of transgender people," Michael Sennett, an LGBTQ+ ministry member, said to The Associated Press.

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What next?

Advocates fear that the document will feed discrimination against the transgender community, even as Pope Francis has "made it his mission to broadcast a message" of inclusion, the Times said.