On Brother Christian Matson
"Have you ever read the hagiography of Saint Marinos the Monk? I thought not. It's not a story the archconservatives would tell you."
A few weeks ago, I received an inquiry from an NBC News reporter working on a piece regarding Brother Christian Matson, the professed hermit in the Diocese of Lexington who recently came out as transgender. I was asked to answer some questions regarding “the ways in which a trans person could be welcomed into a Catholic vocation, and what it means to seek ordination within the Church.”
Knowing my own tendency to write thoroughly and at length, I was under no illusions about how little of my answers would actually be used – and ultimately, as anticipated, only very small fragments made it into the final piece. Nevertheless, I was glad to have the opportunity to articulate these answers, and so I wish to take the occasion to publish the “full” Q&A exchange, lightly edited from the original.
This is a complex issue, and there are many tangential questions here that deserve a fuller treatment. Many of those questions are explored in the resources linked at the end of this piece. I intend to explore and unpack more of those questions in the future.
1. What is your official title as a canon lawyer and how long have you been working in canon law?
I have been working as a canon lawyer for just over 10 years. My educational degree is a JCL or “licentiate” in canon law. My primary employment since 2014 has been as Collegiate Judge for marriage nullity cases in my home diocese, but I also occasionally work as an Advocate for marriage nullity cases in other dioceses across the country.
In recent years I have also started researching and publishing more in-depth canonical analysis and opinions on the intersection of canon law and LGBTQ issues, which I expect will remain an ongoing project for the foreseeable future. My interest in this topic comes from the combination of my Catholic educational background, and my own personal involvement in orthodox Christian and Catholic LGBTQ communities such as Revoice and Eden Invitation.
2. Can you respond to this statement from the Diocese of Lexington and shed some context on what this means for the Catholic Church?
I think it is a bold statement of support for transgender Catholics, which naturally invites both praise and criticism from different schools of thought. In my own view, the praiseworthy elements are strong and can be well defended, but I also recognize the legitimate concerns of those who would disagree for various reasons. Consequently, I think it is too early to say what this means for the Catholic Church: the long-term “success” or “failure” of Matson’s visibility and Bishop Stowe’s support will be measured in terms of how well the theological and pastoral elements are actually defended. As an entry point, we might encourage reflection on the lives and examples of Saint Marina the Monk and Saint Euphrosyne of Alexandria and even Saint Joan of Arc, all of which display notable similarities to the matter at hand (in addition to critical differences). I think the Church needs time and space to give careful reflection to the arguments, and this process will require a shared spirit of genuine openness to engaging patiently with good-faith counter-arguments and criticisms.
3. Can you describe the vocation of a Diocese hermit?
The vocation of a hermit is somewhat difficult to describe, not only because it is often (and intentionally) rarely seen, but also because the actual lived experience of hermits appears to vary depending on the individual and their diocese. Canon 603 §2 describes hermits as professing a vow to observe the three evangelical counsels (chastity, poverty, and obedience) “and then [leading] their particular form of life under the guidance of the diocesan Bishop.” Consequently, the guidance of an individual diocesan bishop can shape the lived experience of hermits, and give rise to some diversity.
But in principle, hermits always strive to “devote their lives to the praise of God and the salvation of the world through the silence of solitude and through constant prayer and penance” (canon 603; see also CCC 920). “They manifest to everyone the interior aspect of the mystery of the Church, that is, personal intimacy with Christ. Hidden from the eyes of men, the life of the hermit is a silent preaching of the Lord, to whom he has surrendered his life...” (CCC 921). While they share many features with other forms of consecrated life, hermits exist canonically as an individual form (rather than a collective form) of consecrated life.
Perhaps one of the more helpful reflections I am aware of can be found in this interview with The Pillar, in which a hermit provides his own perspective on the question “What is the role of a hermit in the life of the Church?” and a glimpse into his unique pattern of daily life.
4. The statement specifically makes a distinction that Brother Christian Matson does not “seek ordination“ but professes a “rule of life” in private hermitage. Can you explain this distinction to me?
These terms are rooted in a very fundamental distinction: between the sacrament of holy orders, and broader forms of religious life.
The Catechism affirms that “Christ proposes the evangelical counsels, in their great variety, to every disciple” (CCC 915). “The state of consecrated life is thus one way of experiencing a ‘more intimate’ consecration, rooted in Baptism and dedicated totally to God” (CCC 916). On this level, religious life reflects the universal call to holiness: through their baptism, men and women can be equally called to live out the evangelical counsels. This is why we have both male and female religious orders – nuns, monks, sisters, brothers – who live according to a “rule of life” as determined by the particular laws of their community, without ever being ordained as clerics.
In contrast, holy orders is understood as a sacrament that was instituted by Christ, and each sacrament has its own (often very strict) conditions for validity, which are regulated by canon law under the direction of the Church. For instance, the Eucharist strictly requires wheat bread and grape wine, and the Church views these as unalterable conditions for validity: because the sacrament was not created by the Church, but gifted to the Church for preservation and sharing with the world. (More precisely: In canon law, there are some rules or laws that the Church creates by its own authority – these are called merely ecclesiastical law, and could be changed by the Church in the future just as easily as they were created in the past. The sacraments, however, are drawn from a distinct category of what is considered divine law, which the Church believes it has received and has no power or authority to change, even if it wished to do so.)
Now it is not possible to summarize here all of the theological arguments and nuances supporting the immutability of this requirement, but, for the sacrament of holy orders, canon 1024 is explicit: “only a baptized man can validly receive sacred ordination”. Of course there are many additional requirements beyond the male biological sex, but the point is this: because the canonical definition of a “man” in this context is strictly tied to one’s biological sex, this explains the distinction that the diocese noted. The emphasis that Matson “does not seek ordination” is a signal that the law of the Church on the sacraments is being respected, while the professed “rule of life” points to the pursuit of the evangelical counsels that is universally open to both sexes, even when they are not ordained.
5. According to Catholic doctrine, what are the paths through the Church that are off the table for a trans person to pursue?
This is a difficult question to answer, because there are two components: what is possible in principle, and what is possible in practice.
As currently written, the law of the Church has no canonical concept of “gender”, and focuses almost exclusively on biological sex. If a person experiences their gender as something distinct from their biological sex, this has no canonical effect, and therefore entails no inherent discrimination: having a cisgender or transgender experience does not inherently give rise to any canonical restriction. In this sense, the truth is somewhat radical: there are no vocational paths automatically off-limits for a trans person, merely on account of their being transgender. The vocational possibilities (or restrictions) of a transgender woman are identical to the vocational possibilities (or restrictions) of a cisgender man, and vice-versa.
Yet matters get more complicated as we descend into practical realities: for even if a transgender person could pursue any vocational path open to their biological-canonical sex, would they genuinely want to do so? Is there any way that a transgender person could continue to pass as their assigned/canonical birth sex without transitioning, and still experience that path as life-giving? For some, it may well be possible – and this is related to the fact that transgender experiences can fall on a wide spectrum of intensity, such that not all transgender persons will feel a need to transition in order to survive or flourish – while for others, this possibility would be suffocating. So this can quickly become a matter of personal discernment and self-imposed boundaries of authenticity, rather than any question of a canonical restriction.
But at the same time, new canonical restrictions can sometimes be entailed by choices: for instance – setting aside all questions of objective morality and subjective culpability – some forms of surgical transition can result in biological-canonical impotence, which the Church views as an absolute impediment to marriage (equally an absolute impediment for cisgender persons). The practical realities, therefore, can rapidly complicate the more abstract theories about what vocational paths are possible in principle.
But by discerning a relatively rare, individual vocational path that is canonically open to both biological sexes, and simultaneously committed to a radical form of celibacy, Matson has (at least arguably) circumvented the vast majority of any theoretical and practical canonical concerns, and found a potential pathway to threading that needle. The proposal, in effect, is that celibacy can become a radical path to freedom – and this a vocational possibility open to all persons, regardless of their gender identity or orientation.
6. Do you know of any other openly trans people who hold a profession in the Catholic Church, or would you say Brother Christian Matson is the first?
I am not currently aware of any others, so I suspect Matson is very likely the first.
7. Do you have any other thoughts on what Brother Christian Matson’s coming out as trans means for the Catholic Church?
I do believe both Matson’s visibility and the visibility of Bishop Stowe’s episcopal support is being received as an encouragement and hope to transgender Catholics. And even if many complicated questions remain to be unpacked and debated, it seems to me that the most fundamental claim being communicated by Matson’s example is that: celibacy is a radical vocational path open to all persons, regardless of their gender identity or orientation; and this is true even if that celibacy is lived “in the world” and outside of all canonical forms of consecrated life.
Links for further exploration:
Interviews with Brother Christian Matson
WUKY Radio: “From black-and-white to color” - transgender Catholic monk speaks on art, faith, and the good news
Louisville Public Media: ‘Ask me what I actually believe’: Transgender Kentucky monk speaks out about misconceptions
On Pronouns and Reality
Julia Malott (video): Navigating Pronouns and Gender Identity Discussions
if you appreciate that excerpt, dive into the full episode:
Transgender Politics and Gender Dysphoria with Julia Malott
On Scientific and Legal Arguments
Jack Turban (video): Why More Kids Are Coming Out As “Trans”
if you appreciate that excerpt, dive into the full episode:
The Science & Controversy of Transgender Healthcare
Tangle News: The Ohio trans healthcare legislation
AppleTV: The Problem With Jon Stewart (S2 E1) “The War Over Gender”
viewer discretion: while the full episode remains a valuable entry point to the discussion, it also contains one brief but gravely blasphemous animated ‘comedy’ segment
On Psychology and Pastoral Engagement
Mark Yarhouse (video): Understanding Gender Dysphoria
this lecture is adapted from the same author’s book: Understanding Gender Dysphoria: Navigating Transgender Issues in a Changing Culture
On Language, Philosophy and Truth
Sophie Grace Chappell: Transwomen and Adoptive Parents: An Analogy
Matt Lutz: What Is A Woman?
James Heaney: Utrum Trans-mulieres Mulieres Sint?
On Theology and Canon Law
David Albert Jones: Truth In Transition? Gender identity and Catholic anthropology
Myself: Advisory Opinion: On The Reception of Holy Communion by Transgender and Non-Binary Individuals [explore the footnotes!]