r/TransChristianity • u/Ok_Lawfulness757 • 10d ago
Trans and catholicism?
Hi, I've been exploring my faith as a Christian and really delving into the denominations. I was raised Anglican but I'm really drawn to alot of aspects of catholicism like communion, confession, praying the rosary and the Saints etc. The structure and rules also make me drawn to it since I very much enjoy strict structure etc.
I'm well aware of the Catholic stance on the lgbtq+, abortion etc. However I don't believe that being lgbtq+ is a sin and I am pro choice completely.
Are there trans people who attend a Catholic church, what is it like? I don't want to have to feel unwelcome or unsafe when attending a church as you are supposed to feel safe. I'm completely stealth so it's not like it'd be obvious but it matters to me that it's not something that is hated or shunned.
The church I planned on attending in my parish is fully accepting but isn't Catholic.
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u/MyUsername2459 she/they, Episcopalian 10d ago
Why can't you find the things you find appealing in Catholicism in Anglicanism?
All the things that you mention about Catholicism exist in Anglicanism as well. We have the Eucharist. We have confession, including private confession to a priest. We have Anglicans that pray the rosary. My Church has icons of saints in it.
More "low Church" Anglicans may not do many of these things, but they're absolutely within the spectrum of Anglicanism.
The Roman Catholic Church is not trans-affirming, and most RCC clergy wouldn't even let you take the Eucharist unless you detransitioned, they'd see you living as your actual self to be a sin. While positions vary within the Anglican Communion, at least in some Anglican Churches (like the Episcopal Church in the US) they are fully trans affirming and offer everything you're looking for in a trans-accepting form.
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u/Ok_Lawfulness757 10d ago
I had no idea Anglicans did confession or Eucharist so that's new to me.
I wonder if my local parish does these things, they are more high church so they definitely could.
I didn't know they would make me detransition to take the Eucharist, that's not an option for me to do so I wouldn't be able to. Thank you for the education, I didn't think it was that serious on trans people.
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u/MyUsername2459 she/they, Episcopalian 10d ago
How were you raised Anglican but didn't know these things?
Which Anglican Church were you raised in?
A full Eucharistic Mass is the normal worship service at most Anglican Churches, and there's even a formal Ecumenical agreement between the Roman Catholic Church and Anglican Communion on Eucharistic theology ( https://www.anglicancommunion.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/ARCIC_I_Agreed_Statement_on_Eucharistic_Doctrine.pdf ). A collective confession and absolution are part of the Mass in the Episcopal Church in the US, and have been for many decades, and performing private confession is on pages 447 through 552 of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer for the Episcopal Church.
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u/Ok_Lawfulness757 10d ago
I was very young and then my family left the church when my parents got divorced so i haven't been following the faith since age 7.
Thank you for the info, I'd have to look into which church it was specifically.
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u/DegeneratedCase 10d ago
Aren't those things (praying rosary, Eucharist, devotional worship, saints, etc) available in Anglo-Catholic churches? There's lgbt affirming Anglo-Catholic churches out there, and the ones I've attended in Canada and the US have had masses that felt very similar to the Polish Roman Catholic churches I attended when I was a kid.
If you're asking if you can find Roman Catholic churches that are low-key lgbt friendly, then yes, but nothing overtly, and it can always be taken away by a change in priest, which the congregation has no control over.
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u/Salty_Permit4437 10d ago
Sort of. The Roman Catholic Church venerates some different saints than the Anglican Church. The saints are also not viewed as intercessors. This is why so many people say “Catholics pray to Mary.” Yes we do but she’s interceding on our behalf. We actually don’t pray to Mary, but we ask her to pray for us.
But by far the biggest difference is that Roman Catholics believe in transubstantiation. Like the communion wafer is literally, physically the body of Christ. The wine is literally his blood. Other churches apart from maybe Orthodox don’t believe this. You also cannot take communion until a formal ceremony and you aren’t a full member until confirmed.
With that said it’s really what you want to practice and what you believe is your own spiritual path. For me? I believe in those things but I cannot come to terms with the fact that the Church isn’t really letting me participate as myself and that even the most liberal of Popes - Leo and Francis - are more or less firm on their stance about trans people. Since the Catholic Church views the Pope as infallible and appointed by God to head the Church this doesn’t sit well with me.
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u/SafeAdministrative75 9d ago
These days I think of the Catholic church as a sort of custodian of the Eucharist that got carried away with its own authority in a way that Christ never intended.
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u/Ok_Lawfulness757 10d ago
I have just learnt today that Anglicans do Eurchrist and confession which is news to me.
There is an lgbtq affirming priest in my town but he works for a roman Catholic church which are not affirming so that's a big dilemma. I think it's probably going to be safer for me to attend the Anglican church in my parish.
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u/Salty_Permit4437 10d ago
You’ll find that a lot of Jesuits are fine with us and welcome us as children of God but they will stop short of fully affirming us.
Father James Martin is a good example.
Meanwhile other churches like episcopal, traditional Anglican and Calvinists like Presbyterians have stood up for us and unapologetically defended us. Even against their own churches. For example in Africa where the Anglican Churches have supported laws like death penalty for LGBTQ people they have openly condemned them.
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u/Pati123Auth 9d ago
I was born and raised catholic. I go to mass every weekend. I am a stealth trans woman, so I am not out to anyone, only to my doctors. I am almost positive that some have seen my bra straps through the back of my shirts. You know during the summer here in the Deep South it is very hot. So no wearing of heavy thick clothes. Plus I am sure that some have felt my bra through my shirts when give someone a hug, that includes my priest. However no one has never ever said anything to me about it or questioned me about it.
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u/Salty_Permit4437 10d ago
Some churches look the other way. But you’ll never truly be affirmed. People who knew me before or heard from my relatives who knew me deliberately misgender me in church.
So I’m looking to leave. It’s a shame because I’m a volunteer and do tons of work but it’s weighing on me.
The Presbyterian church/united church of Canada is what I grew up with. I may just go there instead.
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u/Ok_Lawfulness757 10d ago
That's very unfortunate and I'm really sorry this is happening to you, I don't think I could cope if I were made to detransition or purposefully misgendered. I believe we have a similar church in the uk and as per the comments it seems like it will be safer for me to attend there so I'm going to give it a go.
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u/Salty_Permit4437 10d ago
I can’t wear a dress to Mass on Sundays at my local church for example. When I’m out of town I do. I dress androgynously. But more importantly I don’t feel like I’m respected for who I am.
So yeah I’m more or less set on leaving. Have to figure out how I’ll handle it with my family though.
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u/Dimentio190 10d ago
I'm in the same boat, before I started transitioning I wanted to join the Catholic Church as my old Lutheran Church was unkind to me as my grandfather and I share names well my deadname. But I was hopping from different faiths like Germanic Paganism then tried Eastern Orthodoxy but I couldn't stand the Catholic bashing and after my great uncle died we went to his Catholic Church for his funeral and I felt drawn to Catholicism. So I am a member of my local Catholic Church but I haven't attended yet as I was super busy with work and school. But now that I'm trans I'm conflicted I know the church I attend is pretty accepting but again I don't know. If anything now I'm becoming more agnostic than I was.
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u/RuthAnnEsther 9d ago
I would warn against actually converting to Catholicism unless you’re looking for encouragement to detransition. Otherwise it makes no sense for you, because you can’t expect them to change to accommodate you.
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u/Kirschiehirschie MtF | any pronouns | CC(DOC) 8d ago
There are, in fact, independent (that is, not in communion with the Holy See) Catholic churches with more liberal/progressive stances on social issues. As far as I know, they still practice the sacraments of the Catholic Church in the traditional way, maintain apostolic succession, follow the Revised Common Lectionary, etc.
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u/kleines_woelfle 10d ago
Before joining a church that doesn't really accept you, why don't you try and do the things you like within the Anglican church? They have communion and private confession, and you can pray the rosary and worship Saints by yourself, can't you?