For the purposes of determining eligibility to receive Holy Orders, how does the Catholic Church define “male”? Must a candidate for the priesthood have male genitalia, an XY karyotype, both or only one?
I ask because there are a number of intersex conditions that give ostensibly male persons some female characteristics (and vice versa); for example:
de la Chapelle syndrome, in which a person has male genitalia but an XX karyotype (the inverse is true for people with Swyer syndrome).
-persistent Müllerian duct syndrome, in which an XY person has male genitalia but a uterus and fallopian tubes inside
-Klinefelter’s syndrome, in which a person has an extra X (XXY). They usually appear male but may have breast development and small testes.
There are other possible conditions, but these are sufficient to get the discussion started. Would the characteristics of the above intersex conditions, for the purposes of Holy Orders, “void” that person’s maleness? Or would the Church evaluate each case individually? Needless to say, many people never have their karyotype evaluated and it’s quite probable that some priests have, in fact, had the above conditions without anyone being aware of it.
The history of the former South African Catholic priest Selwyn/Sally Gross suggests that the Church for the most part assumes that a candidate who has an acknowledged and legal male gender identity is in fact a man, and doesn’t require hormone testing or medical certification of the boy bits.
However, being openly intersex is a different story, it appears. I don’t think the Church accepts any kind of self-identified intersex person in the priesthood, and even among the laity their role seems to be somewhat disputed.
I seem to recall that the Freemasons (who accept only men) perform a physical inspection to determine a candidate’s gender. I assume if they pass that, then it doesn’t matter whether they are “medically” intersex or not.
Freemasonry also predates modern knowledge of genetics (though not by a whole lot if you accept the mainstream historian’s viewpoint of the origins of Freemasonry).
Any of the Freemasons on the board able to confirm or deny this?
No one in the Masonic Fraternity ever checked out my male parts and I, even when I served as Master of my lodge ever checked on a candidate’s male parts. This idea is utter nonsense.