New Delhi: Caritas India, the social work wing of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, will recruit transgender people and work for their advancement.
This was decided after a recent internal deliberation of the agency.
“Caritas is open to working with transgenders, preferably if they are staying in clusters, as it may be difficult to work with only individuals. I am even open to recruiting them,” Caritas India executive director Fr Frederick D’Souza said in a statement on October 10.
The move is expected to mark opening up the Church in India for the third gender. It comes three years after Pope Francis remarked “who am I to judge” gays, thus calling for the Church to be more tolerant in its practice toward LGBTQS (.Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and Straight).
The statement called the move a “beginning of a new school of thought.”
Fr D’Souza clarified that by transgender he means “biological transgenders” and not those who undergo gender change.
“We don’t want to confuse the two. We have an opinion on those who undergo sex change, we are not in favour of that. We believe that the natural gender one is born with is what he/she is supposed to cherish and contribute to creation.”
“But people who are suffering for no fault of their own because of sexual confusion in their body require our attention and support.”
He said that by opening itself to the third gender, Caritas hopes to eradicate “traditional biases against them.”
“Our decision will definitely have implications on other institutions. Others will also begin to reflect on this,” he added.
Established in 1962, Caritas India has evolved over its five decades of experience in emergency aid, community development, reconstruction and natural resource management to stands shoulder to shoulder with the community.
The agency imbibes and nurture human dignity by supporting millions of people without the distinction of caste, creed, ethnicity and religion, says its website.
Caritas India is recognized as a leading NGO in disaster response for its efforts in relief, rehabilitation and follow-up development programs. It focuses on Poverty Alleviation, Sustainable Development, Community Managed Disaster Risk Reduction, Natural Resource Management, Community Health, Development of indigenous people, Gender and Child Rights.
Providing sustainable and holistic response through more than 200 member organisations and partners, Caritas India works for the most vulnerable and marginalized section of the society for their inclusive development. Under the global confederation, Caritas India is a member of Caritas Internationalis.