ROME — A new Vatican questionnaire offers respondents a third option when declaring their sex, namely: male, female, and other.
The questionnaire, titled “The Church listens,” aims to collect people’s opinions about the Church, the results of which “will be sent to the Synod of Bishops, which will meet in Rome in October 2023, to give new life to the Church.”
“Pope Francis wants to know how we see the Church and what we think the Church should do to bring her closer to us so that we can move forward together,” explains the survey, which is the brainchild of Monsignor Lucio Adrian Ruiz, Secretary for the Vatican’s communications department.
Further along, the survey asks whether respondents think that the Church “listens/speaks with other social groups? LGBTQI+, journalists, labor unions, businesspeople, other religions, scientists?”
Again, among options for commitments the Church should make to draw nearer to people is the answer: “assist and accompany LGBTQI+ persons.”