Local Priest Approves Transgender Confessionals

Pastor of St. Vitus Catholic Church Father David Hitchens said Wednesday his order that his church allow transgender parishioners to use the confessional they identify with will stand.

Hitchens, speaking at a Knights of Columbus breakfast, said that he got involved in the matter after an unidentified parishioner asked him for guidance.

“What happened and what continues to happen is you have transgender parishioners in church not sure which of the confessionals to use,” Hitchens said. “And they get bullied, they get ostracized, and no-one holds their hands during the Our Father. They have half an hour to make a decision before confessions end and they don’t know what to do. It’s tough for them believing they cannot use the confessional they identify with. My best interpretation of what our Church and our obligations are is that we should try to accommodate these people so that they are not in a vulnerable situation.”

Hitchens went on to tell his parishioners that all priests in his parish must allow transgender parishioners to use confessionals that correspond with their sin identity, and that priests who did not comply would be labelled mean and judgmental, which, he said, “was worse than mortal sin.”