Catholic bishops are reiterating their stance on what is acceptable when it comes to altering the human body, and gender change is not.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) recently issued its Doctrinal Note on the Moral Limits to Technological Manipulation of the Human Body, which stipulates what is and is not appropriate in terms of medical procedures people undergo.
The statement, put out by the USCCB’s Committee on Doctrine, noted that medical intervention that repairs a bodily defect or calls for sacrificing a part of the body that is necessary for the benefit of the whole is acceptable; The Stream reported in April. Under that guideline, the bishops affirmed that removal of cancerous tissue and similar procedures are not considered mutilation.
“I’m blessed to be included with these faithful men,” Joseph Strickland, bishop of the Diocese of Tyler, said in a recent tweet that accompanied a photo of some of the bishops on the committee. “Let us pray that many more shepherds will speak against the tyranny of evil in our time.”
The Committee on Doctrine noted that interventions which treat gender dysphoria with surgical or chemical techniques in order to change a patient's sex characteristics are deemed inappropriate, a USCCB release said. Such procedures are not in alignment with the essential nature of a human being as a combination of both body and soul. Catholic health care services have therefore been urged to reject doing such procedures.
But the USCCB’s opposition to gender-affirming care is not being accepted by everyone, even some Catholics in the health care industry.
"Catholic health care providers will continue to respect the dignity of our transgender patients and provide them with the same quality care we provide to all our patients," Sister Mary Haddad, RSM, president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association of the United States, said in a statement from her organization. "We recognize that the well-being of the whole person must be taken into account in deciding about any therapeutic intervention or use of technology in caring for our patients.”
Other groups praised the bishop's stance, including the Ruth Institute, a global organization that strives to protect the institution of family. It lauded the USCCB for its compassionate and rational stance on gender modification, especially for youth.
“Science shows that ‘watchful waiting’ is the best policy for the vast majority of young people who experience gender dysphoria,” Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, Ruth Institute president, said in The Stream report. “Roughly 80-95% will accept their sex by late adolescence. The bishops’ guidelines for addressing gender incongruence would gently steer these youth and their families away from irreparable damage and into the relatively safe strategy of psychological support.”