Ask a Traditional Catholic

[Randy Carson]

Source please?

If it is a secret document, how is it that you - a non-Catholic, atheist - have had access to it?

Because it was leaked and reported upon by the Catholic News Service back in 2003, the same way Crimen Sollicitationis (the one that said rape victims of the clergy had to shut up and not tell anyone or they'd go to hell) was by a disgruntled bishop. I do not have access to the transexual subsecratum, but Crimen Sollicitationis is freely available online

http://www.religioustolerance.org/transsexu15.htm

2000-2003: Official, although initially secret, ruling by the Vatican:

After extensive study, the Vatican issued a "sub secretum" (secret) document in the year 2000 to papal representatives in each country. Unfortunately, it became obvious that many bishops did not learn the contents of the document, so copies were sent to the presidents of bishops' conferences as well. Finally, in 2003 it was discussed in the Catholic News Service. 4

As for Crimen... http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comm...23656.html . This gets the basic points across, there is a full wikipedia article on it as well as the document itself being available on the vatican website which you may wish to check but this is what most non-Catholics have against it. "You tell the authorities you got raped, you're automatically excommunicated and going to hell".

Are you really reduced now to quoting alleged secret documents found on the Interweb? Sheesh. I can find documents on the web, too. This one is taken from the blog of a transgender Catholic:

Instance #3: The “Secret Teaching” Conspiracy

In January of 2003, John Norton of the Catholic News Service released an article titled “Vatican says ‘sex-change’ operation does not change person’s gender.” It has since been taken down, but is archived elsewhere for posterity. The article claims that a “sub secretum” (top secret) document was shipped from the Vatican to Papal representatives in each country. The document was supposed to inform local bishops on how to deal with transsexuals on a case-by-case basis. It instructed bishops not to recognize transsexuals’ gender identity and to keep them from the Sacraments of marriage, ordination, and religious life. Sex reassignment surgery does not change a person’s gender.

Norton’s article has circled around the web since publication, being cited in just about every anti-trans polemic out there. Never mind that no one seems to have a copy of the original document. Never mind that the trail ends at John Norton, a journalist.

Personally I doubt the existence of the document. The whole thing smells too much of conspiracy theory. One wonders at Norton’s motivation for exposing the “secret.”

Even if the document is real, it does not represent Church teaching. The Catholic Church does not have “secret teachings.” A “secret teaching” is an obvious oxymoron for an institution in which “teaching” means “official guidance for the People of God.” You can’t instruct people or hold them accountable to something if they don’t know the teaching.

Also, even if a secret teaching were possible, it would be extremely irresponsible – maybe even immoral – for the Church to have a clear stance on transgenderism and yet not offer it as guidance to its transgender followers.

Also, it goes without saying that even if this document exists, Norton was obviously not authorized to release it to the public. The Church doesn’t use journalists to put forth its teachings.

Finally, even if the document is real, it supposedly says among other things “… that the [gender reassignment surgery or GRS] procedure could be morally acceptable in certain extreme cases if a medical probability exists that it will ‘cure’ the patient’s internal turmoil.” This seems to open up SRS as an option to pretty much the same people permitted by the medical community to undergo the procedure.


https://catholictrans.wordpress.com/2013...genderism/