In his text, the prelate maintains that the Church is called to “renew its gaze upon the human person” and to “cross new thresholds without losing its soul” in the face of transformations related to identity, the body, and consciousness.
Battaglia presents gender dysphoria and transgender identities as realities that raise “profound questions. Also for the Church,” calls for “not rushing to define,” and proposes a path “not of judgment, but of accompaniment.”
The cardinal does not, however, mention the teaching upheld by the Magisterium on the sexed condition of the human person and the unity of body and soul, reaffirmed in contemporary debates on gender theory and sex change in recent documents such as Dignitas infinita.
“Crossing new thresholds without losing the soul”
The foreword has been published in full by Outreach, the LGBT-focused portal of America Media directed by Jesuit James Martin. The outlet notes that the text was translated from the original Italian and published with Cardinal Battaglia’s authorization.
The Archbishop of Naples begins by describing the present as a “fragile and complex” time, yet also “fruitful,” because it forces us “to take nothing for granted.” In his view, this moment “deeply challenges the Church,” which would be called to “renew its gaze upon the human person” and to “cross new thresholds without losing its soul.”
Battaglia situates his reflection in a world marked by “profound transformations in the experience of identity, relationships, the body, and consciousness.” In the face of these changes, he believes the ecclesial community must walk “with a spirit of listening and discernment,” remaining faithful to the Gospel while attentive to the concrete experiences of persons.
It is in this context that he directly introduces the transgender question.
“The issue of gender dysphoria, transgender identities, and life experiences that do not conform to traditional models raises profound questions. Also for the Church,” he writes.
His proposal consists of an “even more respectful and attentive” listening and a “path that is not of judgment, but of accompaniment.”
“No one is excluded from the heart of God. No life is foreign to the mystery of salvation,” he adds.
A book that brings the trans question into theology, liturgy, and pastoral care
Battaglia’s words serve as the introduction to Persone transgender. Scienze, teologie, pastorali, edited by Damiano Migliorini and Jesuit Giuseppe Piva and published by the Catholic publishing house Queriniana.
The 272-page work aims to address transgender identities from the perspectives of the sciences, theology, and Catholic pastoral practice. It is structured in three major sections—“Sciences,” “Theologies,” and “Pastoral”—preceded by personal testimonies.
Its contents include clinical care for gender dysphoria, the effects of stigma on the health of trans persons, transfeminism, cultural anthropology, Christian morality, Christian anthropology in the face of gender issues, feminist theologies, and the spiritual accompaniment of transgender persons.
The publisher itself highlights the work’s “practical usefulness for pastoral ministry” and announces guidance on “welcome, language, liturgies, and formation.” It also presents “transidentities” as a challenge it considers “urgent to welcome and confront.”
Battaglia endorses the volume’s overall approach by describing it as “a useful tool” for this path and maintaining that it offers perspectives that help formulate “the right questions.”
“Unexplored territories” on an issue on which the Church has already taught
Battaglia insists that the path he proposes must remain faithful to the Gospel and “rooted in truth.” However, in presenting gender dysphoria and transgender identities as “profound questions” also for the Church, he makes no reference to the teaching the Magisterium has upheld on the sexed condition of the human person and the unity of body and soul.
This is not a doctrine that emerged recently as a reaction to the transgender question. The Catechism teaches that sexuality affects the whole person “in the unity of body and soul” and that “it is up to each one, man and woman, to recognize and accept their sexual identity.” Christian anthropology on man and woman, grounded in the biblical account of creation, has been repeatedly developed by the Magisterium.
One of the most recent and explicit pronouncements in the face of current debates is Dignitas infinita, published by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in April 2024 with the express approval of Pope Francis. The declaration does not inaugurate this teaching but applies it specifically to gender theory and sex change.
The document, which starts from the inalienable dignity of every person and demands the avoidance of any unjust discrimination, quotes Francis describing gender theory as “extremely dangerous” because it “erases differences in its claim to make everyone equal.”
The declaration further establishes that “biological sex (sex) and the sociocultural role of sex (gender) can be distinguished but not separated” and holds that “any attempt to conceal the reference to the evident sexual difference between men and women” must be rejected.
Regarding sex change, Dignitas infinita recalls that the body participates in the dignity of the person and states that such interventions, “as a general rule,” risk violating “the unique dignity that the person has received from the moment of conception.” The document distinguishes from these cases interventions aimed at resolving genital anomalies.
Battaglia does not expressly contradict these teachings in his foreword, but neither does he mention them in a text dedicated precisely to presenting a work on transgender identities, theology, and pastoral care. Instead of situating them as the starting point of his reflection, he calls for “not rushing to define,” proposes remaining “within the tension of the search,” and speaks of traversing “unexplored territories.”
“Not so much judgment as dialogue”
The cardinal develops this idea by describing fidelity as “movement in the Spirit” and “communal search.”
“It is not a matter of adopting hasty positions,” he maintains, but of maturing through “dialogue, prayer, and the spiritual and theological deepening of a broad and shared ecclesial discernment.”
Battaglia hopes that reading the book will provoke “not so much consensus as attention. Not so much judgment as dialogue. Not so much opinions as compassion.”
The contrast between these words and the content of the volume is especially relevant because Queriniana does not present the work solely as a reflection on the welcome and accompaniment of persons with gender dysphoria, but as a proposal with concrete applications in areas of ecclesial life such as language, formation, and liturgy.
The question left open by the foreword is not, therefore, that Battaglia expressly denies Church doctrine—something he does not do—but that he presents as a matter of search and “unexplored territories” anthropological questions for which the Magisterium already offers defined principles and which its most recent documents have expressly applied to gender theory and sex change.
The precedent of the Te Deum of Naples
This intervention does not constitute Battaglia’s first gesture related to the LGBT sphere within ecclesial life.
On December 31, 2024, a few weeks after being created a cardinal by Francis, Battaglia allowed Cristiano Cimmino, a member of the Neapolitan LGBT association i Ken, to speak during the Te Deum celebration at the end of the year in Naples Cathedral.
Cimmino presented to the faithful the experience of his organization and defined it as a “lay pastoral community” born from a group of homosexual and transgender persons.
The foreword to Persone transgender now adds to this pastoral line of the Archbishop of Naples, this time through his endorsement of a work that seeks to transfer reflection on transgender identities to concrete areas of the Church’s life.
Complete foreword by Cardinal Domenico Battaglia:
Below we reproduce, translated into English, the foreword written by Cardinal Domenico Battaglia for Persone transgender. Scienze, teologie, pastorali, edited by Damiano Migliorini and Giuseppe Piva, SJ, published by Queriniana and disseminated in full by Outreach:
There is a time for everything under heaven, says the wise man. And there is a time—today more than ever—to stop and listen. To keep silence before the unknown, to devote time to stories, to welcome questions that seem greater than the answers we have. This is the time in which we find ourselves: a fragile and complex time, yet also fruitful, because it forces us to take nothing for granted. A time that deeply challenges the Church, called to renew its gaze upon the human person, to cross new thresholds without losing its soul.
We live in a changing world, sometimes abruptly, which brings with it profound transformations in the experience of identity, relationships, the body, and consciousness. In the face of these changes, the ecclesial community is called to walk with a spirit of listening and discernment, remaining faithful to the Gospel and, at the same time, attentive to the sufferings, expectations, and questions that arise from the concrete experiences of so many persons.
This volume gathers contributions diverse in their origin, perspective, and content. They are voices coming from the worlds of science, psychology, anthropology, theology, and pastoral care. Voices that do not all speak the same language, but which together address a complex and delicate topic, offering the reader an opportunity: that of stopping. To reflect, not to flee, not to rush to define, but to remain faithfully within the tension of the search. The issue of gender dysphoria, transgender identities, and life experiences that do not conform to traditional models raises profound questions. Also for the Church.
But precisely for this reason it demands an even more respectful and attentive listening. A path that is not of judgment, but of accompaniment. No one is excluded from the heart of God. No life is foreign to the mystery of salvation. And every person, every story—even those that seem distant or difficult to understand—carries within itself the possibility of a revelation. The revelation of a God who draws near, who allows himself to be touched, who dwells in wounds, who does not fear the fragile flesh of the children of man. Because He assumed that flesh, lived it, and transfigured it.
At the heart of this path of human transfiguration, the Gospel remains for us light and guide, inviting us to walk a path of fidelity and trust. Fidelity is movement in the Spirit; it is communal search; it is the will to remain anchored in Christ while traversing unexplored territories. For this reason, it is not a matter of adopting hasty positions, but of maturing through dialogue, prayer, and the spiritual and theological deepening of a broad and shared ecclesial discernment, which respects persons and is rooted in truth.
This book can be a useful tool on this path. Because it offers perspectives and encourages us to formulate the right questions. And, above all, it reminds us that before ideas come persons. Persons to encounter, to listen to, and to accompany. With the wisdom of the Church, with the strength of charity, with the beauty of the Word, with the tenderness of care. I hope that the reading of these pages will arouse not so much consensus as attention. Not so much judgment as dialogue. Not so much opinions as compassion. Because only on this ground can a true pastoral care grow, capable of truth and tenderness, of coherence and openness, of fidelity to the Gospel and closeness to the human condition.
I wish the reader to allow themselves to be moved. To enter into the folds of the stories, the reflections, and the doubts. And to perceive that, at the heart of it all—beyond differences, beyond conflicts, beyond struggles—remains the desire for a Church that never ceases to be a mother. A mother who accompanies, who listens, who protects. A mother who knows, with humility and courage, to set out with all, safeguarding and sharing the truth that makes us free.