Wedding of trans couple in Argentina is null, archbishop says

SÃO PAULO, Brazil – The wedding of a transgender couple at a church in Pompeya, Argentina, on Jan. 28 has no effect and will be annulled by decree, the local archbishop told Crux.

Solange Ayala, a born-male trans-woman, and Isaías Díaz Núñez, a born-female trans-man, were married at the church of Our Lady of Pompeya in Corrientes according to the Catholic rite. The ceremony was celebrated by Father Fernando Luis Gómez.

Ayala told Radio Sudamericana that the couple followed the procedures “just like everybody else.”

“We approached the friar to speak with him, and he received us very warmly. We had a conversation, and he explained the steps to follow,” Ayala said.

Gómez met with Archbishop José Adolfo Larregaín, Ayala said, and later told the couple that “there was nothing that could be objected to regarding our ability to enter into marriage, because, speaking in biological terms, we were a man and a woman.”

“Therefore, we could be blessed under the sacrament of marriage,” Ayala said.

Videos posted on social media show parts of the ceremony, including the moment when Ayala’s father escorted the bride to the altar. Transgender friends of the couple also attended the wedding.

Ayala described the wedding as a magical moment in which “the couple celebrated love amid so much hatred experienced nowadays ‐- love in spaces that have historically been denied to us, encouraging us to keep struggling.”

Speaking to Radio Sudamericana, Ayala said the couple was not fervently Catholic.

“I’m not going to lie — it’s not that I was ultra-Catholic or super devoted to the Church. I do know other trans friends and colleagues who are very fervent Catholics, and in that sense they are not given the opportunity. But I do feel that this is a matter of making things visible.”

Ayala said the couple were allowed to use their current names in the ecclesiastical documents and were not required to use the names listed on their baptismal certificates.

After news of the wedding became public, both the Archdiocese of Corrientes and the parish of Our Lady of Pompeya released statements.

In its declaration, issued on Feb. 8, the Archdiocese affirmed that “the Church, as mother and teacher, takes special care in the celebration of the sacraments,” and that “marriage, as a sacrament, requires the fulfillment of certain essential conditions for its validity and liceity, as established by Canon Law and the living tradition of the Church.”

“The omission of these conditions not only distorts the profound meaning of the sacrament but can also create confusion within the community of the faithful,” the statement read.

The Archbishop of Corrientes acted in accordance with the provisions of Canon Law, the document continued, “issuing the appropriate admonitions and any formal canonical disciplinary measures that may apply.”

“This was necessary because at no time did this Archdiocesan See receive the ecclesiastical documentation required for the formalities involved in these cases,” the statement said.

The Archdiocese reaffirmed its “commitment to a Church that welcomes, accompanies, and walks alongside people, always in fidelity to the Gospel, to the doctrine of the Church, and to the legal order that ensures the correct and fruitful celebration of the sacraments.”

In a separate declaration, the parish of Our Lady of Pompeya stated that “Christian marriage, as a sacrament, requires essential canonical conditions for validity and liceity,”

including that “the parties be free and capable of marrying, that no canonical impediment exist, and, decisively, that they give true consent.”

“Out of respect for the privacy of the individuals involved, no details will be provided, nor will speculation be encouraged,” the parish statement read.

Gómez reaffirmed his “commitment to authentic pastoral care, always united with the truth of the sacrament,” and said that “procedures for interview, preparation, and verification will be strengthened in order to safeguard the sanctity of the sacraments and prevent confusion within the community.”

Larregaín told Crux that in such circumstances a marriage is considered null ipso facto – null by the very fact itself – because it does not comply with the requirements of “matter and form” for a valid sacrament.

“That happens automatically, but a formal decree is issued,” he added.

The archbishop emphasized that welcoming everyone in the Church, including transgender people, does not mean allowing sacraments to be administered when the necessary conditions are not fulfilled.

“It is important to take into account Pope Francis’s declaration Fiducia Supplicans regarding blessings and the need to avoid confusion with the rite of marriage,” he said.

According to lawyer Ricardo Lugo, an expert in Canon Law, the couple’s request to receive the sacrament of marriage was accepted by the local parish “because they have distinct genders.”

“From my point of view, the civil and ecclesiastical requirements governing both institutions have been fulfilled,” Lugo told Crux.

Lugo said that most of the local Catholic community had not objected to the ceremony, but “a minor group filed a complaint with the archbishop, and a canonical procedure was launched.”

“Corrientes is a more conservative and traditional community, distant from large urban centers – where the case did not have much repercussion,” he said.

In the opinion of Sergio Petroni, a longtime LGBT Catholic activist in Buenos Aires, real changes in the Church – such as the celebration of LGBT weddings – take a long time to materialize.

“I was a seminarian, and I understand that the Church moves much more slowly than culture and society – it takes steps back so as not to make mistakes,” he told Crux.

Petroni is a founding member of the oldest group of LGBT Catholics in Argentina, which has been active since 2005.

“I know that if the Pope said that LGBT people can receive all the sacraments, major splits would follow,” he said.

Petroni has been in a relationship for the past 17 years and said he wishes they could receive the sacrament of marriage, but he knows that it unlikely.

“We feel sad about it, given that we only have one life to live. But I’m convinced that any change regarding LGBT marriage will not happen during my lifetime,” he said.

Petroni said he believes that if more priests dared to celebrate LGBT marriages, change might come sooner.

“But it’s not just up to the priests, because their communities may oppose their actions. What we really need is a cultural transformation,” he said.

By being present at Masses and celebrations, and by educating people day by day through their presence and example, LGBT Catholics can work for such change from within the Church, not from outside it, he said.