Breaking: Vatican Doctrine Chief Acknowledges Gender Dysphoria in New Remarks

A small but necessary step forward for the church & transgender people

Originally posted on Substack by Max Kuzma Mar 06, 2025

Photo by Caleb Miller, Unsplash

This week, the Vatican appears to have added some additional context to “exceptional” situations regarding gender dysphoria.

At a theology conference in Germany, Vatican Doctrine Chief Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández said “there are cases outside the norm, such as strong dysphorias that can lead to an unbearable existence or even suicide. These exceptional situations must be evaluated with great care.” He even noted that “in some cases” [...] ‘dysphoria’ [...] manifests itself even from childhood.”

The most recent church document to refer to transgender people was Dignitas Infinita which is dated April 2, 2024, and condemns both gender affirming care and so-called “gender theory”, labeling them as violations of human dignity. The document was widely criticized by transgender and intersex people (including me, here on substack).

Dignitas Infinita essentially frames the issue of trans identity as a concern that people want to change their sex as a way to “play God.” Pope Francis has been a friend to the trans community, and I even had a chance to meet him last year, but has also referred to concerns regarding “gender ideology” as a “technocratic paradigm” where reality is a problem to be solved through technology and science.

But Cardinal Fernández’s comments, published online by the Vatican, represent a small step forward in acknowledging the reality of transgender people’s lived experience of dysphoria, which directly challenges the idea that we are trying to “play God” and denies the notion that we are rejecting our natural identity. Instead, it seems to recognize that dysphoria is a deeply felt and sometimes unbearable condition that requires compassion and understanding, rather than condemnation or dismissal.

Ultimately, the church hierarchy needs to listen to experts and the lived experiences of transgender people, including transgender Catholics such as myself who not only have experienced an existential relief through our transitions but also profound joy and happiness in finally living the full truth of our God-given identities.