A Catholic diocesan hermit in Kentucky comes out as a transgender man

Christian Matson, a Catholic diocesan hermit in Kentucky, came out publicly as transgender this month during the Christian holiday of Pentecost.

“I was seeing young trans people take their own lives because they felt rejected by their communities, including their religious communities,” Matson said. “I could no longer sit in the safety of being stealth and not raise my voice to say, ‘This is wrong.’”

Matson and one canon lawyer believe he is the first openly trans person in his position in the church.