A Catholic monk named Christian Matson defiantly announced coming out as a transgender man in opposition to Catholic Church doctrine condemning the act of changing one’s sex in many circumstances.
Matson insists that the church will just have to ‘deal with us’, and told Religious News Service that he is doing so with the permission of a bishop.
Coming Out
Matson is a Catholic diocesan hermit, who says he received approval from Bishop John Stowe of the Diocese of Lexington to come out as a transgender member of the Catholic Church.
Matson believes he is now the first openly transgender person in his current position in the church, though this is difficult to confirm.
What are Diocesan Hermits?
Diocesan hermits live out a vocation related to eremitic life, an ancient tradition that demands one live out their life in solidarity. These hermits hope that by separating themselves from the concerns of the world, they can achieve a greater understanding and resonance with the creator God.
According to Canon 603, a hermit is one “dedicated to God in consecrated life if he or she publicly professes in the hands of the diocesan bishop the three evangelical counsels, confirmed by vow or other sacred bond, and observes a proper program of living under his direction.”
Rare Position
The diocesan hermit vocation is uncommon within the Catholic church, with those only being granted permission to live out the vocation in rare circumstances.
“It is extremely rare for a diocesan priest to receive this permission to live out this particular vocation…At the present time, there are no diocesan hermits living in the Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls and we are not accepting candidates,” says the Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls.
Defying Stereotypes
Despite diocesan hermits by their nature being more reserved and disconnected from earthly affairs, Mattson insists that his faith is compelling him to speak up publicly.
“It’s not your church to kick us out of — this is God’s church, and God has called us and engrafted us into it,” Matson told Religious News Service.
Gender Struggles
Matson officially converted to Catholicism in 2010 after having been a Christian Presbyterian. His conversion took place four years after transitioning to become a man, which would complicate his feeling that he was called to serve in the church.
Mattson would spend nearly a decade talking to various people and communities to find a place that would allow him to serve God in the Catholic Church while maintaining his new gender identity.
Catholic Rules
The Catholic Church severely limits those who have undergone any form of gender reassignment or “sex-change” surgeries from serving in the body of the church.
The Vatican’s official stance is that sex-change operations do not change a person’s gender and that anyone who has undergone one is ineligible “to marry, be ordained to the priesthood or enter religious life.”
Canon Lawyer
Matson spoke to a canon lawyer, who told him that if he was going to operate openly he would need to convince a bishop to accept him.
“There’s no problem as long as there’s a bishop who will accept you because there’s no distinction by sex and you’re not in a community — you’re by yourself,” Matson said the lawyer told him.
Idea Realized
In 2018, after years of searching, Matson gave up on trying to find a religious community to accept him, focusing his efforts on finding an LGBT-friendly bishop. He sent a letter to Stowe, who has been a prominent voice of tolerance for LGBT people amongst sympathetic Catholics.
“I thought, well, if I can’t find a religious community to sponsor me, maybe what I need is a bishop,” Matson said.
Crushing Rejection
Now accepted by Stowe, Mattson told Religious News Service how he had faced crushing rejections from many communities in the past.
“They said, ‘No, we just don’t see how this would work for us,’ which was crushing, because that’s where I felt called,” said Matson. “People who knew me said, ‘You clearly have a religious vocation,’ and these were all people who knew my medical history. But when they would go to the people in the community in charge of making that decision, they … would often just refuse to even meet with me.”
Refusing to Compromise
Mattson is adamant in his refusal to compromise his gender identity for his faith, believing that the call he feels to serve the church should supersede the church’s feelings about transgender members.
“You’ve got to deal with us, because God has called us into this church,” Matson said. “I don’t have a hidden agenda, I just want to serve the church. People can believe that or not.”
Infinite Dignity
Just last month, the Vatican issued a treatise called “Infinite Dignity” in response to growing concerns around the acceptance of LGBT ideas and members.
In the document, the church defines gender theory, abortion, and surrogacy as all being attacks that disrupt humanity’s connection with the Creator.
