The run-down beach town of Torvaianica is about 35 km (20 miles) south of the Vatican. But for transgender women who live there, it had seemed light years away until a rapprochement with the Catholic Church that began during the COVID-19 lockdown and led to an invitation to have lunch with Pope Francis recently. Claudia Victoria Salas, 55, and Carla Segovia, 46, both Argentinian, were in a group of transgender people, among about 1,200 poor and homeless people, who attended the lunch on the Church's World Day of the Poor. To her surprise, Salas, a former sex worker, found herself seated opposite the pope, who is also Argentinian, at the main table in the auditorium, where the pontiff holds his general audiences in winter. Carla Segovia, 46, a sex worker, said that they feel a bit more human now as Pope Francis has made an effort to bring their community closer to the Church. Recently, the Vatican's doctrinal office issued a statement saying transgender people can be godparents at Roman Catholic baptisms, witnesses at religious weddings, and receive baptism themselves. LGBTQ+ rights advocates in the church welcomed the move while conservatives condemned it, accusing Francis of sending confusing signals about sexual morality to the faithful. #Queer Up Religion