A male-to-female “transgender” drag queen performer in the city of Guadalajara, Mexico has received a new baptismal certificate affirming his female self-identity, with the approval of an official of the city’s Catholic archdiocese.
The issuance of the baptismal certificate in early February was followed weeks later by two articles affirming “transgender” ideology in the archdiocesan newspaper, which gave the articles the top headline on the front page and featured the face of a man wearing lipstick.
Following an outcry from Catholic priests and laity, the baptismal certificate has been retracted and the articles have been removed from circulation by archdiocesan authorities. But the incidents have caused great consternation among the faithful of Guadalajara regarding the direction of the archdiocese.
In recent years, in addition to its articles promoting transgenderism, the archdiocesan newspaper Semanario has also published articles that appear to promote feminist ideology, artificial insemination, and even the pro-abortion viewpoint. The Cardinal Archbishop of Guadalajara, Francisco Robles Ortega, has publicly endorsed the legal recognition of homosexual unions in recent years, contradicting the Vatican’s 2003 decree on the subject.
The incidents are particularly notable in light of Guadalajara’s historically strong Catholic identity. The archdiocese is historically linked to the Cristero struggle of the 1920s and 1930s, in which Mexican Catholics fought the government to protect the right to Catholic worship and education, and to stop the imposition of perverse sex education programs in local schools. Moreover, Guadalajara is reputed to host the largest number of Catholic seminarians in the western hemisphere.
The controversy has erupted in the context of an increasingly powerful LGBT movement in Mexico that has obtained legislation allowing “transgender” people to change their birth certificates to reflect their declared “gender identity.” Pro-family leaders in Mexico are now being successfully sued for “political violence” for referring to transgender “women” according to their real biological sex.
Drag queen is “legitimate daughter” of his parents, says baptismal certificate
The transgender birth certificate, which was published on the recipient’s Facebook page, contains his new legal name, which was changed from “Carlos Alejandro Rea Cano” to “Wendy Nayeli Rea Cano”, and refers to him as a woman.
“On September 6, 1987, Fr. Emilio Gutierrez solemnly baptized Wendy Nayeli Rea Cano,” states the certificate issued on February 3, calling Rea Cano “the legitimate daughter” of his parents.
Rea Cano, who performs a drag queen act at the Guadalajara nightclub “VIP Cabaret” and other venues, says that he went through a nine-month process at the offices of the archdiocese before receiving approval for changing his baptismal certificate, casting doubt on claims that high officials didn’t know about the case or its final disposition.
“After nine months I finally obtained the recognition of my identity by the Archdiocese of Guadalajara and the corresponding modifications for my ecclesiastical documents,” wrote Rea Cano on his Facebook page on February 3.
“Today I dedicate this great step to all of those who were not given the dignity and recognition of their identity when they died and those who in these years of struggle have accompanied me directly or indirectly,” he added.
Several weeks after Rea Cano publicized an image of the baptismal certificate on his Facebook page, and following numerous inquiries from local priests, the chancellor of the archdiocese issued a private statement to high-ranking clergy distancing the archbishop from the document and stating that it doesn’t have the “support” of the chancellor’s office.
In his recorded message issued to the episcopal vicars of the archdiocese and obtained by Catholic World Report, archdiocesan chancellor Fr. Javier Magdaleno Cueva attributed the decision to issue the baptismal certificate to the Vicar General of the archdiocese, Fr. Jesús García Zamora, who is second in authority to the archbishop himself.
Noting that he had been approached by concerned priests regarding the baptismal certificate, Magdaleno claimed that his own office had been opposed to its issuance. He also denied that the archbishop had given his approval, and added that the document would not be “supported” by Magdaleno’s office, which is charged with authenticating diocesan documents.
Addressing the “episcopal vicars,” Magdaleno Cueva stated, “I want to specify that what appears in the document was not ordered by archbishop. I haven’t given any such instruction. To the contrary, the opposite decision was given to the consultation.”
“I don’t know what the reasons are for presenting this document. Only documents signed by me are binding. Therefore, this, perhaps, good intention of the Vicar General, or this exaggeration in an extraordinary case, cannot count on the support of the chancery.”
However, photographic evidence obtained by Catholic World Report shows that permission for the issuance of the baptismal certificate was given on stationary marked “Cancilleria,” which is Magdaleno Cueva’s office. It asks Fr. Jose Luis Carrillo Vazquez, Rea Cano’s pastor at Guadalajara’s San Onofre parish, to “match the documentation” from Rea Cano’s revised birth certificate, which was changed in 2016 to reflect his new name and “gender.”
“To match the [birth certificate] documentation . . . please place in the bottom margin [of the original baptismal certificate]: ‘According to the official document issued in Mexico City on October 4, 2016 . . . that the name is Wendy Nayeli Rea Cano, and the name of the mother is María de los Ángeles Cano Ramirez.’” the letter states, adding, “At the request of the male (female) interested party, a copy of the certificate can be issued with the new information.”
The document is signed on stationary that has the header, “Archdiocese of Guadalajara” and under it, “Cancillería”, a term which in Mexico is used to refer specifically to the office of the Chancellor. However, it is signed by Fr. Josúe Zuñiga Rubio, one of five people listed on the archdiocesan website as an “official” of the archdiocese, rather than by the Chancellor himself.
In a brief interview with Catholic World Report, Episcopal Vicar Fr. Jesús García Zamora admitted that he had made the decision to place a footnote in Rea Cano’s baptismal record to note the new legal name of Rea Cano, but claimed that the permission to issue a new certificate was a mere “administrative error,” and that the archbishop hadn’t known. The prelate, who has the powers of an ordinary in the archdiocese, did not explain how such a thing could have happened after a nine-month process. He added that the baptismal certificate had been rescinded.
In his own recorded statement circulated by a fellow priest, Fr. Carrillo Vazquez recounted that he called the offices of the archdiocese to confirm that the order had been given to issue the new baptismal certificate. He stated that he spoke to the official who had signed it, receiving direct verbal confirmation from him that the order was valid.
“Legally, he’s no longer a man, right? Legally.” said Fr. Carrillo. “I don’t know if the Vicar General, or [the Chancellor] Magdaleno, or one of the auxiliary bishops authorized it.”
Fr. Carrillo also claimed that he had spoken to one of the auxiliary bishops about the matter after concerns were raised by fellow priests, who told him that he had “done the right thing” by obeying the order, but that the archbishop wanted to wait for a decision on the matter from the Mexican episcopal conference before issuing any more such baptismal certificates.
The auxiliary bishop also reportedly stated that a “circular” would be issued by the archbishop addressing the matter. To date, no such circular has been issued, and the archbishop has made no public statement addressing the issue.
Rea Cano initially told CWR that although he has removed the document and references to it from his Facebook page, it has not been retracted by the archdiocese. He later amended his claim and told CWR that his baptismal certificate continues to be “in process” at the moment. He is currently refusing interviews on the topic.
Archdiocesan newspaper promotes transgender ideology with front-page headline
The issuance of the baptismal certificate was followed several weeks later by two articles teaching gender ideology published in the archdiocesan newspaper Semanario. The articles were featured as the top headline on page one, next to a large image of a man wearing lipstick.
“Sex is the biological side: the physical body, the sexual organs,” one of the articles explains. “In contrast, gender is the emotional body: the internal sense of what you are. The relationship between sex and gender is what defines a person as trans or cisgender.”
The article declared to readers that “A brain that recognizes itself with a gender that doesn’t coincide with its biology, the sex of the body, is a brain with a variation. The variation in the brain of a Trans and Gender Diverse person is not a pathology. In 2015, the World Health Organization recognized that being trans is not an illness, nor needs a cure.”
The article admonishes parents that, “regarding minors who are Trans and Gender Diverse, the National Commission on Human Rights recognizes their right to [gender] identity and to live in conditions of well-being, and a healthy integral development. This means that parents and teachers have the obligation to accompany them in in the process of self-recognition.”
The article was met with protest from many of the faithful of Guadalajara, as well as from the Archbishop Emeritus, Cardinal Juan Sandoval Íñiguez, who had founded the newspaper during his tenure in 1997. Sandoval Íñiguez issued a video in which he condemns transgender ideology as “perverse,” and the articles an “offense” against the Catholic Church.
“As a bishop committed to the truth of the Gospel, and minister of the Gospel because I am a bishop, I have to clarify that this article is an insult, it’s an offense, and it makes common cause with the enemies of the Church and of human life,” said Sandoval.
Following the outcry, the editorial board removed the offending issue from circulation and a representative read a written statement in a video on the publication’s Facebook page, apologizing that “some sectors” of the Catholic laity had taken offense to the articles, and noting that the Catholic Church condemns transgender ideology.
The publication provided no explanation for how such articles could appear in a Catholic newspaper, and no retraction appeared in the newspaper itself but new articles appeared in the next issue criticizing gender ideology from a Catholic perspective. They were not given the same prominence as the pro-transgender articles, receiving a smaller mention on the bottom of the front page.
Many local Catholics were not convinced by the response. They responded with outrage and skepticism to the posting of the video apology on the publication’s Facebook page, posting over 100 replies in the space of a few days, almost entirely negative.
“This clarification is not strong. In no part of the edition of that day did there appear any disagreement [with gender ideology] that they state in the video. It sounds to me like this wasn’t a mistake…and it’s not the first time,” wrote one commenter. Another wrote that the articles were a “lamentable error from the heart of Cristero territory,” adding that it’s “very shameful that they published it.”
“Where is the Cardinal????? Why does he remain silent??” wrote another.
Critics have expressed concern that the articles represent a tendency in editions of recent years. In one recent issue, almost an entire page was created to expound on the pro-abortion position. In March of 2021, multiple articles spoke positively of artificial insemination, treating it as a range of options. An entire issue of the publication in early March of this year was committed to promoting feminist ideology to readers.
In its “special edition” promoting feminism, which appears to have been published on March 5 to coincide with the “International Women’s Day” marches that regularly include vandalism and physical assaults against Catholic Churches throughout Latin America, Semanario stated in an unsigned editorial, “Sorry if we women have caused discomfort with our cries, our protests, our graffiti, our demonstrations, but we aren’t going to be silent, we cannot take a step back nor stay shut up in our houses where they also rape and kill us. We cannot stay silent and no, we can’t be ‘nicer.’”
According to Alejandra Ramirez, Professor of Bioethics at the Bioethics Study and Research Center in Guadalajara, claiming such acts are accidental won’t hold water after so many similar incidents.
“Over time, the Archdiocese of Guadalajara has permitted a large number of articles, which some qualify as ‘politically correct,’ that come from people who don’t know true Catholic doctrine, but are in clear opposition to it,” Ramirez told CWR.
“The excuse that ‘it was just a mistake’ in the face of various articles, has now become normal and has become a way of evading any responsibility,” she added. “Their silence regarding various articles published in Semanario is blameworthy, because, consciously or unconsciously, they have harmed others, in this case, all of the faithful who faithfully follow the instructions and advice of their pastors.”
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