Australia allows for "non-specific" gender

(Vatican Radio) Australia's highest court on Wednesday recognized the existence of a third "non-specific" gender that is neither male nor female. The High Court issued the decision in a case of a man who had sex-reassignment surgery, but did not wish to identify as either male or female after his operation. The law only covers those who have undergone such a surgery.

Despite this change in the law, Australian religious organizations would not be required to recognize a sex-reassignment in areas of church teaching, such as for ordinations.

“There would be no issue in the law in Australia that would require a church to recognize that particular situation for the purposes of ordination,” said Father Brian Lucas, the General Secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

“The only other matter that does create some particular issue, and that needs to be investigated, are questions of the validity of marriages,” he added.

Father Lucas told Vatican Radio that current legislation at the national and state level in Australia does not require churches to perform marriages where gender issues were at stake.

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