Transsexual individuals can receive baptism in the Roman Catholic Church “if there are no situations in which there is a risk of generating public scandal,” according to a new Vatican policy statement.

Pope Francis and Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández announced the policy in an Oct. 31 letter to Bishop José Negri of Santo Amaro, Brazil. The church’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, headed by Cardinal Fernández, posted the document Wednesday on its website.

The letter was published in Italian. The Washington Times used machine translation for quotes in this report.

Bishop Negri had sent questions to Rome on July 14 “regarding the possible participation in the sacraments of baptism and marriage by transsexual and homo-affective” persons.

“There is nothing in current universal law that prohibits a transsexual from being a witness to a wedding,” the document states. Cohabiting homosexuals also can be permitted to be wedding witnesses, according to the document.

However, there is no right for anyone to be a godparent at a baptism, the document states. Under certain conditions an adult transsexual can be admitted to the role, but “pastoral prudence requires that it not be permitted if there is a risk of scandal … undue legitimation or disorientation” in a congregation.

Gays living together in a “stable and declared … relationship, well known by the community” should probably not be godparents but, rather, serve as witnesses, the document states.

The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit who has a ministry for LGBTQ individuals, said on X that the new document marks “an historic step forward in the church’s relationship with transgender persons.”

“In some dioceses, they were prevented from doing so by local pastors. As such, this is an important step forward in the church seeing transgender people not only as people (in a church where some say they don’t really exist) but as Catholics,” said Father Martin, who is close to the pope.