Following the USCCB General Assembly in November 2017, a group of ecumenical and interfaith partners gathered with bishops of the Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage to discuss gender ideology. As a result of this discussion, faith leaders today issued an open letter entitled “Created Male and Female”.
Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. of Philadelphia, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, chairman of the Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, chairman of the Committee for Religious Liberty, and Bishop Joseph C. Bambera of Scranton, chairman of the Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs signed the letter.
“We hope this letter communicates to the public our shared understanding of the goodness of the creation of humanity as male or female and underscores our commitment to service of this truth with both clarity and compassion,” said Bishop Conley.
The religious leaders stressed the importance of acknowledging the reality of sexual identity, noting, “Children especially are harmed when they are told that they can ‘change’ their sex or, further, given hormones that will affect their development and possibly render them infertile as adults. Parents deserve better guidance on these important decisions, and we urge our medical institutions to honor the basic medical principle of ‘first, do no harm.'”
The leaders close with a hope: “We hope for renewed appreciation of the beauty of sexual difference in our culture and for authentic support of those who experience conflict with their God-given sexual identity.”
To read the letter, click: here.
Full story at USCCB website.
The amount of time the bishops spend on these fringe issues is astounding! “Those who experience conflict with their God-given sexual identity” are simply deluded, and are in fact, very small in number.
Gender Dysphoria is a mental illness that deserves no special attention from the USCCB which should regard it as nothing more than the sexual revolution’s flavor of the month. On with real work gentlemen!
I totally agree Kristin. Let’s forget about addressing the theological implications of tiny minorities and concentrate on people who actually exist. Thus, we should throw out addressing the faith implications of people who: 1) came into existence by Virgin Birth, 2) those who rose from the dead, and 3) people personally selected by God to spread His Word. Since 14 such individuals existed in human history, they can’t possibly matter more than the billions born in the last 2,000 years.
Ahh Yes – the pedantic poseurs of John Jay (who told us the Homosex Ephebophile infiltration of the Priesthood by small numbers of dedicated Boy Rapists didn’t really happen – Heterosexuals are to blame) would have us Believe:
That Divinity & Drag are one in the same, and by virtue of the Minority Rule we should give them the same value, if not values.
I submit that seeing as Drag Queens / Steroid Dykes are depraved temporal phenomenon, and God is Infinite and Eternal, that the later deserves just a teensy bit more attention to detail.
I in no way said, or even inferred, that Divinity and Drag were the same thing. I made a very specific point: that Kristin asserting that we should ignore the theological implications of transgenderism due to their small numbers is a ridiculous argument. If you are, as you claim, a practicing attorney, you make these arguments against me knowing full well they are completely bogus.
Michael McDermott’s reflexive contempt and disgust for the transgendered fails God’s test just as much as those who use psychological problems as an excuse to indulge in unrestrained fornication.
JonJ, my what silly sarcasm you offer! Gender confused people are mentally ill, a segment of society the Church supports in her mercy. This is also a highly politicized group that demands us to accept and promote that which is contrary to truth – calling a him a her for example. The bishops must reject modern notions of political correctness. Their duty is to teach and preach truth to all, not pander to a few.
The problem, Kristin, is people today are too proud of our scientific “knowledge”. This is also true about people of faith who too confidently apply the limited science of today to Biblical doctrine.
400 years ago, we had no knowledge that inter-sexed people (those with mixed sex chromosomes) or that genetic mutations even existed. Too much confidence in scientific knowledge can lead us to condemn anyone who asserts any kind of sexual confusion, even those who are legitimately inter-sexed. Can you not see that there could be people with problems based on biological issues that we can’t identify with today’s science?
The test, Kristin, is how do we treat people when it’s hard to distinguish those with legitimate problems…
JonJ, you misrepresent my point. It’s not just about the numbers, it’s about going down the rabbit hole of today’s popular perversions. Apologists for this particular mental illness spend lots of time trying to get around the fact that it’s manifestations are evil in nature. Let God, not science, be the judge.
Kristin, certainly God should be the judge. But, science can tell us what gender someone actually is when our eyes can be deceived. Is it “evil” to be born with damaged androgen receptors, such that you can’t develop male secondary characteristics even though you have XY chromosomes and can only mature as a female?
Many transgenders may look entirely male, but have partially damaged androgen receptors that likely affected the unformed brain during fetal development. I say let God judge their actions because man is in no position to decide.
The bishops just did that. Read the letter.
Kristan, a politer term for such people would be emotionally ill. Often people who claim to be transgender were made to feel unloved for being the sex with which they were born. One man tells how his confusion started when his grandmother put dresses on him and told him how pretty he was when she babysat him. He began to think the only way to get her love was to be a girl. Many family members do not want to admit that they might have been part of the problem. None of us are perfect parents, but we should try to correct any wrong we have done.
It’s the guy’s grandmother that was crazy.
Yes, Anonymous, we must be very careful how we influence the minds of innocent children. All my family bought boys’ clothing and dressed my grandsons in them, but one day one of my grandsons at about three grabbed my purse off a couch, put it over his little arm and started out the door with it when his parents were leaving. We all laughed and said how cute it was, but we quickly let him know that it was a lady’s purse and belonged to grandma as we did not want it to become a habit. Cute in one thing, encouraging bad habits is another.
It is messing up youth.
This Formerly Trans 14-Year-Old Has A Message For Questioning Kids
https://thefederalist.com/2017/12/14/formerly-trans-14-year-old-message-questioning-kids/
by Walt Heyer
Noor Jontry believed she was male from ages 11 to 13, but has changed her mind. Now at age 14, she is sharing her journey into the trans-male identity and back to her female self…
Gender dysphoria is the strong feeling of unease about one’s gender not matching one’s physical body. Noor says, “I learned that being female isn’t a feeling It’s a biological reality and I could feel however I feel without it meaning I was male”
When asked why she wanted to be male, she said she didn’t like her body and wanted a different one. She also realizes in retrospect that “I…
Momma once warned me against engaging in Flame Wars with anonymous homosex trolls, and even more directly told me not to join the small numbers of ‘friends’ jumping off the golden gate bridge.
I was thus restricted to pier-head jumps on the waterfront, and actually went for a swim one cold Christmas, while repairing a Tug tied up at Pier 9.
My partner and I had spent long hours removing knuckle buster bolts to access a piece of equipment for repairs. We got it back from the machine shop later that day and tried to muscle it on the boat – but a rogue wave from the bay hit the tug opening the gap to the dock, and rather than lose the fitting I pushed and he pulled and the fitting landed on deck – and I in the bay.
I mention the story to highlight the consequences of jumping in to places that are oft best avoided.
Of course losing the Tug Engine Fitting in the bay would need a diver to recover it, so in return for a good cold soak I managed to recover & shove the Fitting on board.
My pockets were full of bolts, and rather than fall head over heels in the bay, I used my last contact with the dock to jump off and straighten up, so as to hit the water clean and have one chance to recover before the jacket soaked and the bolts weighed me down.
Fortunately I made it to a piling and hung on til they brought a ladder. Hot Coffee & a Free Ride Home followed.
The lesson I took – Sometimes you are in charge of your life, and other times circumstances…
I do draw the line at responding to Ad hominem Personal Attacks, conducted by ‘anonymous’ Trolls, who lack the grit in their gullet to openly identify themselves, and what if any connection they have to the Catholic Church?
Are they homosex political activists pushing the GILBERT Gaystapo agenda BAMN – By Any Means Necessary?
Beyond that – if an ‘anonymous’ troll wants to denigrate the essence of the Nicene Creed on this board, who are ‘we’ to judge their Jail Time for Pronoun Crime Pogrom
I’m kind of with Kristin’s post above. The people that this letter applies to are very few in number and usually have a very tough life because other people around them (like the bishops) think they should have a say in how they live their lives. What does a straight (or even a gay) bishop know about what it is like to be transgender? Have they ever met with a significant number of them, learned what their lives are like, how their faith plays out in their lives, how they are treated by other people? I would put a thousand dollars down to the charity of their choice if ANY of these bishops had ever spoken for more than an hour with more than a pair of transgender persons.
YFC and his unstoppable campaign of trashing the natural order.
You should contribute $1000 to Cardinal Raymond Burke favorite charity because he tried to start an order for transgender women but was refused by the Vatican.
I find your statement about Cardinal Burke’s trying to found a trans-gender religious order very hard to believe. Could you cite some authentic sources for your post?
There are several places on the web where one can read about it.
There are traditionalist websites and also others.
Here is a concise version:
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/markshea/2013/10/reactionary-successfully-defends-church-from-wounded-sinner-seeking-god.html
Google Bishop of Las Crosse Burke Transgender Nun for others. I don’t want to send anyone to a website that will offend them. This seems the safest.
Correction: La Crosse
Cardinal Burke did what?
YFC, you don’t get it. Yes, the more that the bishops listen to transgender people, their stories and experiences, the better they will be able to minister to them. but…all of us need to understand the bishops and the other people who signed the letter. They are trying to teach something important. And it is a universal truth. Sanctity is about rising above your self, dying to self. It is not about trying to get the Church to see it your way. It is about trying to get yourself to see things God’s way. St. Louis de Montfort wrote:
… in order to empty ourselves of self, we must die daily to ourselves. This involves our renouncing what the powers of the soul and the senses of the body incline us to do. We must see as if we did…
We must see as if we did not see, hear as if we did not hear and use the things of this world as if we did not use them
This is what St. Paul calls “dying daily”. Unless the grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain and does not bear any good fruit. If we do not die to self and if our holiest devotions do not lead us to this necessary and fruitful death, we shall not bear fruit of any worth and our devotions will cease to be profitable. All our good works will be tainted by self-love and self-will so that our greatest sacrifices and our best actions will be unacceptable to God. Consequently when we come to die we shall find ourselves devoid of virtue and merit and discover that we do not possess even one spark of that pure love which God shares only with those who have died to themselves and whose life is hidden with…
that pure love which God shares only with those who have died to themselves and whose life is hidden with Jesus Christ in him.
Telling kids they can ‘change’ sex is harmful: US Catholic bishops with other faith leaders
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/telling-kids-they-can-change-sex-is-harmful-us-catholic-bishops-with-other
“Children especially are harmed when they are told that they can ‘change’ their sex or, further, given hormones that will affect their development and possibly render them infertile as adults.” So says a letter released Friday and initiated by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, and joined by faith leaders from the Lutherans, Anglicans, Orthodox, Presbyterians, and Southern Baptists. One Islamic representative also signed the document.
“Gender ideology harms individuals and societies by sowing confusion and self-doubt,” the…
Banned by Trans (Master Post Intro)
https://bannedbytrans.wordpress.com/read-first-introduction
It’s highly unusual, and perhaps even suspect, that a special interest group representing a minuscule portion of the population has become this powerful, this fast, and yet claims that they are “silenced” and “invisible” to society.
And it’s also highly unusual/suspect that 0.3% of the population has been this effective in censoring entire political organizations (such as Deep Green Resistance) and political ideologies (radical feminism).
Many people – agree that it is transactivists who are actively silencing and triggering others, creating a climate in which questions and criticisms of their ideas are not only discouraged, but sometimes…
People who have “gender dysphoria,” are mentally ill! Those who suffer with “LGBT” problems, are not medically normal! Many think that the “LGBTs” are just a “variety” of sexuality, in Nature– but this is not true at all— these are extremely abnormal cases, which require good medical diagnosis and care! Hopefully, someday, those in the field of medicine and psychiatry, will see the truth, on the “LGBT” issues — and perhaps good scientific research can someday be of help! The Church is correct in guiding these people to a good, chaste life, to serve God, Who desires only their highest well-being!
It is extremely important, for our Church and our society, to return to Christian morality, and normalcy of understanding, on the fundamental reality of Nature– we are created Male and Female, as it says in the Book of Genesis! Our Bible, the Word of God, has for thousands of years, given us the truth, that one Man and one Woman, are to be joined together, in Holy Matrimony— a Sacrament, in our Church! And in Holy Matrimony, the married couple receives children, from the hand of God, and forms a family– the basis of our Church and our society— and the basis of all civilization!! Children should be brought up with love, in a traditional home, with a solid foundation of Christian morality!
Each human being is born with a gender– either male or female. Only God can make a baby! And only God can make the baby’s gender! A human doctor cannot play God, and change a person’s fundamental gender! All the operations in the world, and all the bodily mutilations, hormone pills, etc.– wil never change a person’s true gender! If a person has psychiatric problems, and is unhappy with their gender– they need medical help! Wishful thinking, and your imagination– can never change your God-given gender! Bruce Jenner is still a male– and will be a male, until life’s end! He is a female impersonator, actually– not a “woman!”
P.S. All kids are taught in biology classes, that a baby girl has “XX” chromosomes, and a baby boy has “XY” chromosomes. And that is fundamental to the baby’s gender– impossible to change!
There are disorders of the sex chromosomes so not every person has an XX or a XY. There are people born with sex organs from both sexes.
Transgender persons have normal XX or XY chromosomes but for unknown reasons see themselves as the opposite sex.
Yes, Anonymous, there are a great many medical abnormalities and disorders! And these people need good medical treatment! There are even very sad cases Anonymous– in which babies are born without a brain! Regardess– little chidren need to be brought up in loving, safe, soild, practical, traditional homes and comunities, and taught the simple, basic facts of Nature’s NORMALCY!! They do not need confusion–
or worse– exposure to sexual perversions, by sick or sinister, immoral, exploitative people! Parents need to take sick or abnormal chidrren to medical professionals.
Linda Marie, did you read the letter? No one is arguing with you about morality or how to raise children. Some people who are intersex do choose (or their parents choose) which gender they have. But now there is an evil ideology in the world which is trying to undermine male-female gender assignations. If you are not aware of it- I will not introduce you to it. It is part of the demonic war on marriage and on the human person.
Well, Linda Marie, advanced biology courses tell you that some people are XXY, XXX, and XYY. Others have a mixture of cells in which some are XY and some are XX (genetic mosaic in sex chromosomes). Some are XY, but have damaged androgen receptors which make it IMPOSSIBLE for them to develop male secondary characteristics no matter how much testosterone you pump into their system. They can only mature with female hormones.
Rat studies show that if you inject a XX rat with male hormones in the womb, that the adult female will show male mounting behavior as an adult. Gender IS set at birth, but isn’t a simple matter of chromosomes and genitals.
Again JonJ, you are acting as an apologist for mentally ill people who act out their delusions. Science does not provide all the answers, and as much as you might want to blame God for messing up their genetic makeup, folks are responsible for their actions. You have made your politically motivated points, all wrapped up with your big science bow, now give it a rest!
Kristin, Catholic theology explains birth defects as resulting from Adam disobeying God in Eden: this choice allowed imperfection to come into the world. Thus, “God made them male and female” seems to refer to perfect creation. Our fallen world isn’t so perfect, thus we have some people who are mixed between both genders.
The science talk shows that there are more people with a mixed nature than is apparent to our intuition, or the naked eye. To say they’re all mentally ill, and dismiss anyone who seeks such therapy isn’t sound doctrine IMHO. Repairing birth defects is proper. People without a true mixed nature “changing sex” is wrong. I don’t think Catholic doctrine is in error, I think it’s not being applied correctly.
Jon J., you are correct about those born with genital defects (intersexed) having the right for corrective surgery, but they are rare. I think it best that such people make the decisions for any change when they are older as they will blame their parents and the doctors later in life if things go wrong, and that has tragically happened to some children.
You are also correct that those who are not born intersexed cannot change their sex. They should be helped to solve their emotional problems and face reality without mutilating surgery.
JonJ, this is a Catholic website! So, why do you waste your time, writing posts here, puttng down solid Catholic beliefs?? Yes, there will always be cases, sadly, of many various medical abnormalities! And little children do NOT need to know about all that! Nor do they need exposure to sexual perversions, or possible exploitation, by criminal adults! Little childrren need to grow up in loving, safe, solid, practical, traditional homes and communities, protected from evil, by Christian Morality — where they are taught the truths of God and His Mother Nature, and the basic, simple facts of the two genders– Male and Female. The rest is extremely inappropriate for children.
Well, Linda Marie, it’s because I’m disgusted by the attitudes of the self-proclaimed “devout” Catholics on here. Many here are using religion as a justification to act on their revulsion and contempt for transgender people, rather than the mercy for the sinner that marked Christ’s actions on Earth.
Treating children with “transgender” therapy is a bad idea, since many children change their minds as they mature. We also really don’t understand the condition. Remember, for an action to be a sin, it must be undertaken with free will. What many forget is that people with psychiatric problems have compromised free will.
JonJ, again, this is a Catholic website! We do not know the motives of the posters here, but we all should respect Catholic teachings! And it is a big responsibility, to protect children from all possible harm, by deviant sex predators! Yes, there wil always be some people who do not accept others— people of all walks of life, have to learn to grow up, and deal with that, socially! Best to only reveal your life to a few trusted family, friends, clergy, and medical professionals– other than that, your life’s issues and struggles, are none of anyone else’s business.
JonJ, people with psychiatric problems DO NOT have such ridiculous excuses, as “compromised free will!”. All people have free will– unless they have lost their mind, and require hospitalization, and 24-hour nursing care! All people have a big responsibility, to lead a good and decent life, and avoid harm to others– avoid sin!
LM – there are genetics determined Birth Defects and conditions that can effect the XX- XY duality of Gender. We owe a duty of proper care and understanding to those afflicted, but their medical conditions are not evidence of a Different Gender.
Mayo Clinic: “Turner syndrome, also known as 45,X or 45,X0, is a condition in which a female is partly or completely missing an X chromosome. Signs and symptoms vary among those affected. Often, a short and webbed neck, low-set ears, low hairline at the back of the neck, short stature, and swollen hands and feet are seen at birth…”
Well, Mike, Adrenal Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS), in which an XY individual has defective androgen receptors and cannot develop male secondary sex characteristics, shows that sex isn’t a simple matter of chromosomes..
Since AIS individuals are, as far as I know, ALWAYS psychologically female despite XY chromosomes, we suspect that sexual identity is caused by the effect of hormones on the developing fetal brain. People with physiological development issues are properly treated with “transgender” therapy. The problem is that it’s not always possible to distinguish between such people and people with purely psychological problems with today’s science.
Yes, Michael McDermott, there are a great many disorders, illnesses, disabilities, and abnrmalities in the world! Siamese twins, babies born without a brain, Thalidamide babies, babies born with a cleft palate, etc.—- and babies born with sex abnormalities. And this material is not for children to know, or deal with. Plus– society and the Church have a big responsibility, to keep sex predators and sex perversions, far away from families, children, communities, and churches!
Who said anything about sex predators, LM? Why do you leap to a conclusion that if someone has a subtle or not so subtle genetic disorder that that makes them a predator? What a horrible and completely unproven assumption to make.
Please Read the Letter: As leaders of various communities of faith throughout the United States, many of us came together in the past to affirm our commitment to marriage as the union of one man and one woman and as the foundation of society. We reiterate that natural marriage continues to be invaluable to American society.
We come together to join our voices on a more fundamental precept of our shared existence, namely, that human beings are male or female and that the socio-cultural reality of gender cannot be separated from one’s sex as male or female.
It is signed not just by Catholic leaders but also Anglican, Presbyterian, Missouri Baptist, Southern Baptist, Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, Islamic, Seymour Institute for Black…
Yes, Anonymous, everyone read the letter! Why do you post as “Anonymous?” Several posters are doing that! How about your own moniker? Great, if you believe in and support the teachings of our Church! And nobody needs to worry about extreme gender abnormalities! That is for medical researchers!
It is confusing. I grant you that. Some who use a moniker also use the anonymous default and that’s ok. I know some people really hate it and some have announced that they will not read anonymous posts or respond to them. That is their decision. I respect it.
And some people, Anonymous– are hiding behind a shadow, afraid to use their real moniker!
Cowards is what they are.
I would think that people born with the extremely disabling condition of being Siamese twins, would have far more need, for special accomodations– such as unique bathrooms in schools and public places, unique school desks, unique seats in public places, unique school locker room shower facilities, plus much more! So– where are the political activists, for their cause? By the way– a human being is just that, a human being– NOT a “thing” called an “LGBT!!” Every human being has a couple of mild abnormaities– and so what? We are all basically the same– human beings, created and loved, by God!
L.M. — Co-joined Twins can register and vote as different people, not because Everyone has a ‘dual nature’ but as an accommodation to a Medical Condition that really produced two different individuals. The One Person one Vote rule is not violated by making such accommodations.
The Tranny Fetish Freak pogrom would destroy such reasonable approaches in favor of mandatory pandering – and if you feel like Multiple Persons in One Body, then you get as many…
New Va. Transgender Delegate Heads to Castro District, Smiles on Drag Party
https://blog.frcaction.org/2017/12/new-va-transgender-delegate-heads-castro-district-smiles-drag-party/
On the campaign trail, Danica Roem said transgender politics had nothing to do with the Roem campaign Political observers called that bunk
Now, a month after winning a seat in the Va. House of Delegates, Roem was off to the notorious San Francisco Castro district
In a glowing review of the “Drop Trou” event on December 10, the San Francisco Gate described hundreds of men stripped down to their underwear, some in drag and G-strings, gathered for a street party to raise money for an AIDS foundation
Roem was in town for a speaking engagement and “a…
Michael McDermott, hope you will finish your above post! It’s great! Of course– there is no such thing, as “transgender politics!” Or “gay politics!” We are all human beings! Serious medical disorders, illnesses, and disabilities, have nothing to do with politics! Wish the whole country would wake up and see that!
L.M. “Michael – hope you will finish your above post! It’s great!”
I believe it was Al Capone who said that: ‘A smile and a gun will get you further than a smile alone’
Of course Al died from Syphilis and was a vegetable long before shuffling off.
Flattery, However, works for Me, if only because I so rarely receive any (shed a tiny tear here), and thus I need to ask which post you want finished off – and what direction I should take it; and it shall be yours.
By the way, a man who was just recently paralyzed in an accident had his limbs restored to normal and is moving around once again by physicians using his OWN stem cells. This is a wonderful breakthrough in helping people with all kinds of medical problems and handicaps, and it was done WiTHOUT using stem cells from aborted fetuses, which is wrong. This is where we should be putting our money, not in procedures, such as com sex change, that do not work. Corrective surgery for those born with genital defects or by injury, of course, should be allowed.
Correction to fifth line in my above post:” not in procedures, such as so-called sex changes, that do not work.”
Schools are now the breeding grounds for radicalizing kids into transgender activists
https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/schools-are-now-the-breeding-grounds-for-radicalizing-kids-into-transgender
Schools make sure to spotlight students who have declared themselves to be transgender.
One school gave a fifteen-year-old biological girl a featured spot in the all-school assembly to declare to impressionable fellow-pubescents, “I’ve come to the decision that I’m non-binary, which means that I’m not a boy or a girl.”
In lockstep with political correctness, the girl asked the entire school population to refer to her as “They,” and asked that all students designate their preferred pronouns whenever introducing themselves.
As if on…