Catholic diocesan hermit approved by Kentucky bishop comes out as transgender

[Michie]

Matson is thought to be the first openly transgender person in his position in the Catholic Church.​

Brother Christian Matson is a Catholic diocesan hermit in Kentucky. (Courtesy photo)


(RNS) — Diocesan hermits by nature don’t get much attention. A small subset of religious persons, hermits mostly spend their lives engaged in quiet prayer.

Brother Christian Matson, a Catholic diocesan hermit in Kentucky, has spent years doing just that. His monk’s habit might catch his neighbor’s eye, but he is known in the town where he lives primarily through his work with the local theater.

But recently Matson decided that his faith compels him to make a little more noise than usual.

“This Sunday, Pentecost 2024, I’m planning to come out publicly as transgender,” Matson told Religion News Service on Friday (May 17), saying he was speaking out with the permission of his bishop, John Stowe of the Diocese of Lexington in Kentucky.

Matson, who is also a Benedictine oblate, believes he is the first openly transgender person in his position in the Catholic Church. It is a difficult claim to confirm — even Stowe told RNS he did not know for sure if Matson is the first — but Matson’s status is at least highly unusual and comes at a time when church officials are grappling with how to address transgender Catholics.

According to Matson, 39, his “disclosing,” as he describes it, is a moment years in the making. He offered his story as indicative of the often difficult path for trans Catholics, including those seeking life as a religious — a category that includes brothers and nuns.

Continued below.

Catholic diocesan hermit approved by Kentucky bishop comes out as transgender

(RNS) — Matson is thought to be the first openly transgender person in his position in the Catholic Church.

religionnews.com

 

[RileyG]

Lord have mercy! May God fill him with divine grace and keep him holy.

 

[Michie]

Lexington Bishop John Stowe allows local woman to stage ‘coming out’ as male-appearing diocesan hermit...

 

[Michie]

Diocese of Lexington doubles down on referring to female 'hermit' as 'he,' 'Brother' - LifeSite

In a scandalous statement, the Kentucky diocese, led by Bishop John Stowe, acknowledged its admittance of a gender-confused woman to live as a 'diocesan hermit,' calling her 'he' and 'Brother' throughout.

www.lifesitenews.com

 

[RileyG]

So she’s biologically female?

 

[FaithT]

So she’s biologically female?

This is so confusing.

 

[RileyG]

This is so confusing.

Apparently yes? A woman pretending to be a man?

 

[FaithT]

Apparently yes? A woman pretending to be a man?

Weird

 

[RileyG]

Weird

It’s a biological woman “identifying” as a man.

Very weird indeed.

 

[Michie]

So she’s biologically female?

Yes.

 

[RileyG]

Yes.

Sad!

 

[WarriorAngel]

2000 Vatican document that, according to a Catholic News Service report from the time, declared that anyone who had undergone “sex-change” was ineligible “to marry, be ordained to the priesthood or enter religious life.”

Matson approached a canon lawyer to discuss his options and was told that only two aspects of Catholic life were categorically off the table: marriage and the priesthood. According to Matson, the canon lawyer recommended being upfront about his status as a transgender man in any vocational conversations with church leaders and mentioned the role of a diocesan hermit, which could prove less challenging than enlisting with an existing religious order.




May the Lord assist them in the life and role of hermit..

 

[FaithT]

Matson is thought to be the first openly transgender person in his position in the Catholic Church.​

Brother Christian Matson is a Catholic diocesan hermit in Kentucky. (Courtesy photo)


(RNS) — Diocesan hermits by nature don’t get much attention. A small subset of religious persons, hermits mostly spend their lives engaged in quiet prayer.

Brother Christian Matson, a Catholic diocesan hermit in Kentucky, has spent years doing just that. His monk’s habit might catch his neighbor’s eye, but he is known in the town where he lives primarily through his work with the local theater.

But recently Matson decided that his faith compels him to make a little more noise than usual.

“This Sunday, Pentecost 2024, I’m planning to come out publicly as transgender,” Matson told Religion News Service on Friday (May 17), saying he was speaking out with the permission of his bishop, John Stowe of the Diocese of Lexington in Kentucky.

Matson, who is also a Benedictine oblate, believes he is the first openly transgender person in his position in the Catholic Church. It is a difficult claim to confirm — even Stowe told RNS he did not know for sure if Matson is the first — but Matson’s status is at least highly unusual and comes at a time when church officials are grappling with how to address transgender Catholics.

According to Matson, 39, his “disclosing,” as he describes it, is a moment years in the making. He offered his story as indicative of the often difficult path for trans Catholics, including those seeking life as a religious — a category that includes brothers and nuns.

Continued below.

Catholic diocesan hermit approved by Kentucky bishop comes out as transgender

(RNS) — Matson is thought to be the first openly transgender person in his position in the Catholic Church.

religionnews.com

How did she even pass the criteria to become a Brother?

 

[WarriorAngel]

How did she even pass the criteria to become a Brother?

Evidently a canon lawyer.

So long as she isn't teaching.... maybe the quiet could allow her to listen to the Lord.
I pray for her grace. Maybe a mixed up nun thing going on... and well living with anyone..? Is a hermit alone ?

Sorry, she is a she forever.

 

[RileyG]

Hopefully she will accept the fact she’s female and do the will of God. You cannot change your sex. That’s a biological fact.

 

[Michie]

How did she even pass the criteria to become a Brother?

Good question. I know little about the hermitage and how it operates.

 

[WarriorAngel]

According to the Catholic Leader, they are known for a life devoted “to the praise of God and salvation of the world through a stricter separation from the world, the silence of solitude, and assiduous prayer and penance.”

 

[Michie]

According to the Catholic Leader, they are known for a life devoted “to the praise of God and salvation of the world through a stricter separation from the world, the silence of solitude, and assiduous prayer and penance.”

I think she means How did a biological female get into a male hermitage…

 

[WarriorAngel]

I think she means How did a biological female get into a male hermitage…

A recommendation of a canon lawyer.
Otherwise, I do not know if they had the discussion well after the transition.

Basically, what's done is done and maybe being a hermit can help them? [Mentally? They have to do penance?]

They are still human. That aside, we know this is a mental disorder.
I do not know what the thinking was except maybe not to throw away a human life.
Being they accept penance as a way of life.... it's good for them.

 

[Michie]

Trans-identifying monk risks ‘scandal’ in Church, experts say

Christian Matson, a hermit living in the Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky, went public with her transgender identity in a May 19 Religion News Service story.

www.catholicnewsagency.com