Catechesis and Policy Recommendations
Dear Faithful of the Diocese of Boise,
"The truth will set you free." Christ's words to his disciples call Christians in every age to
embrace the truth of who they are as children of God, for only in embracing this truth can we be set free. This is Christ's promise, to which Catholics assent with mind and heart, and this promise is the foundation of the Church's moral teachings.
The Church has always had the duty to scrutinize the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel. Thus, in language intelligible to each generation, she can respond to the perennial questions which men ask about this present life and the life to come, as well as, about the relationship of the one to the other. We must therefore recognize and understand the world in which we live, its explanations, its longings, and its often-dramatic characteristics. In the past decade, there has been increased attention paid to gender dysphoria and gender discordance,
especially among young children and adolescents. This is coupled with the widespread notion that the solution to such dysphoria is to affirm one's "experienced gender" over and against one's biological sex.
This guide is intended as a commentary to help foster a proper understanding of policies of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise regarding gender identity, in recognition of the pastoral sensitivities regarding this matter, and the real and profound struggles individuals of good will face. The following prompts the Diocese to provide catechesis for all the faithful, and especially for Church employees, personnel, and all others who work in parishes, organizations, and institutions within the Diocese of Boise.
Prior to the promulgation of any policy, the Diocese of Boise fervently hopes that any person experiencing gender dysphoria knows what the Catholic Church tirelessly affirms - and that is that they are unconditionally loved by Jesus Christ and by His Church. They need to know they are vital members of the Body of Christ who have a home in the family of God.
As I remain sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Peter F. Christensen
Bishop of the Diocese of Boise
Over the past decade, new claims and questions about “gender identity” have gained prominence throughout the Western world. This has prompted a significant change in how young people conceptualize and articulate their self-understanding, especially when it comes to gender; some of this change in self-understanding is due to many of the cultural influences from social media and the like. In the United States, 43% of trans-identified people are below the age of 25. This trans-identification in this age group has doubled since 2017. (1) In the UK, the number of young people seeking gender transition rose by almost 1,900% between 2010 and 2020. (2) New Zealand, Finland, Canada, and the Netherlands have also recorded similar increases in gender dysphoria among their young people. (3) In the midst of this shifting landscape, many priests, parents, and educators have been seeking support from the Church for the raising of children.
Catholic institutions must respond to this complex cultural phenomenon with compassion, clarity, and fidelity to the truth, which is most fully revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. This document aims to provide guidance for Catholic schools, religious education programs, sacramental preparation programs, and youth ministry activities for our youth up to 18 years of age in the Diocese of Boise. We move forward now, in order to support and accompany gender-questioning students and their families in a way that ensures our Catholic Institutions fulfill their Catholic mission.
I. The Truth and Dignity of the Human Person
The first chapters of Genesis in Sacred Scripture provide the foundation for a Catholic anthropology—the Catholic understanding of the human person. We believe human beings are made in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:27). We are set apart from the rest of creation because we uniquely “are called to share, by knowledge and love, in God’s own life.” (4) This is our ultimate purpose, our supreme vocation.
Genesis also conveys, through figurative language, that every human being is a unity of body and soul. In the human person, “spirit and matter … are not two natures united, but rather their union forms a single nature.” (5) Our embodied existence, “whole and entire,” is willed by God, and our bodies share in the dignity of being created in God’s image. (6)
One aspect of our embodied existence is sexual difference: maleness and femaleness; the embodiment of the masculine and feminine principles, respectively. (7) Because of the profound unity of body and soul, one’s nature as a man or a woman, is rooted in sexed embodiment. This feature of our humanity is the crowning flourish of God’s creative work in Genesis:
"Being man" or "being woman" is a reality which is good and willed by God: man and woman possess an inalienable dignity which comes to them immediately from God their Creator. Man and woman are both with one and the same dignity "in the image of God". In their "being-man" and "being-woman", they reflect the Creator's wisdom and goodness. (8)
Sexual difference has profound significance for our earthly life; it is only through the union of male and female that new human beings come into existence. Yet sexual difference also carries profound spiritual meaning. Maleness and femaleness signal our capacity for an interpersonal communion that is life-giving; this reflects, or “images,” God’s Trinitarian nature. God himself is an interpersonal communion and the generative fount of all life. Sexual difference is thus one way that God reveals himself to us and through us. The paradoxes of human embodiment reflect the paradoxical nature of God and of all divine truths.
St. John Paul II’s reflections on sacred scripture, known as The Theology of the Body, offer profound meditations on the dignity and meaning of the human body. It is only through the body that the hidden spiritual reality of a human person is made manifest; the body reveals the person. This endows the human body with an important sacramental function, making visible what would otherwise remain unseen.
The dignity and spiritual significance of human embodiment is integral to all the central mysteries of the Christian faith: the Incarnation of Christ, wherein the divine Word takes on a human nature; the Crucifixion, wherein Christ offers his body as a sacrifice of love for all; the Resurrection, wherein Christ rises bodily from death and ascends to the Father; the Eucharist, wherein Christ’s body and blood are presented anew at the altar for us to partake; and the coming resurrection of the dead, wherein we, too, will have our full nature—body and soul—restored and perfected.
As Pope Francis has emphasized, another important aspect of the human vocation is also stewardship of creation, and accepting the givenness of our bodies is part of that stewardship:
“The acceptance of our body as a gift from God is vital for welcoming and accepting the entire world as a gift from the Father and our common home, whereas thinking that we enjoy absolute power over our own bodies turns, often subtly, into thinking that we enjoy an absolute power over creation. Learning to accept our body, to care for it and to respect its fullest meaning, is an essential element of any genuine human ecology.” (9)
In the light of the Catholic faith, the human body is a gift, good and willed by God. Our bodies are part of the harmony of the created order, and our sexual difference is part of God’s self-revelation, as well as a sign of our ultimate calling: to give and receive love.
II. Gender Identity Theory
The Catholic understanding of the human person is at odds with “gender identity theory,” a framework that is increasingly dominant in Western culture. According to this model, one’s identity as a man, woman, or both/neither is based solely on subjective self-perception. The term ‘transgender’ has entered common usage by those who advocate gender identity theory. This theory separates “gender” (man-ness and woman-ness and the masculine and feminine principles found in nature itself) from biological sex, rooting sexed identity in a dissociated self-perception rather than in the body. In cases of a felt incongruence between gender identity and sex, this model affirms the subjective sense of gender over the objective fact of biological sex and recommends the process of “transitioning” to identify as one’s chosen, rather than given, sex.
The process of transition can take numerous forms, but the standard framework delineates four stages of “gender affirming care” (GAC) for young people: social transition, puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgeries.10 Social transition includes adopting the name, pronouns, facilities used, clothing, and appearance that align with the subjective sense of gender. Puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries are all aspects of medical transition.
To some, supporting aspects of social transition may seem benign, even humane, such as using someone’s preferred pronouns and actively affirming his or her perceived gender. However, while well-intentioned, this kind of endorsement may encourage a young person onto a path of unnecessary medicalization. Social transition is often the first step toward hormones and surgery. A 2020 survey of transgender and nonbinary youth found that 64% of respondents were either already receiving cross-sex hormones or desired to do so. (11) Danish researchers who first used puberty blockers on gender dysphoric children found that social transition increased the likelihood that dysphoria would persist and result in medicalization. (12) Social transition can also include practices such as breast-binding and genital tucking, both of which have been shown to have adverse effects on physical health, like testicular torsion and reduced fertility in males, and abnormal lung function and back pain in females. (13) Moreover, a 2020 study on the effects of social transition found that family and peer relations, but not social transition status, predicted psychological functioning. (14) In other words, providing young people with love and social support need not be equated with endorsing the GAC model.
The process of medical transition for young people with gender incongruence often begins with puberty blockers that disrupt the process of sexual maturation. The purpose of this procedure is to halt the body’s natural course of masculinization or feminization to facilitate subsequent cosmetic changes that can better approximate the appearance of the opposite sex. These changes most often involve taking cross-sex hormones and can also include surgeries that remove reproductive organs and alter genitalia. It is important to emphasize that the desired effect of these procedures is cosmetic; they do not treat a clearly identified physiological condition. Because of this, medical transition, which can often lead to permanent sterility and ongoing harm to the body, is incompatible with Catholic medical ethics as well as Catholic anthropology.
Proponents of the GAC model believe that these cosmetic procedures will lead to better psychological outcomes and an increased quality of life. It is well documented that transgender people have higher risks of suicide, and thus it is supposed that these procedures are ultimately life-saving. However, these claims are not well supported by scientific evidence, particularly when it comes to treating gender dysphoric young people. (15) There are very few studies that track the long-term outcomes of medical transition, and most studies lack controls, rely on convenience samples and/or small samples, and have considerable loss to follow-up. One of the few robust, long-term studies available found that individuals who have undergone medical transition have a rate of suicidality that is 19 times higher than the general population. (16) While a 2020 study found an initial reduction in suicidality after beginning the “gender affirmation” process, instances of self-injury and suicide contemplation remained high throughout the process, a finding that corroborates several European studies. (17) This evidence indicates that medical transition, at best, does not solve the problem of elevated suicidality and, at worst, exacerbates it.
Some countries are recognizing and responding to the dearth of high-quality evidence that supports GAC, especially for young people. In February 2022, a Swedish government oversight agency conducted a systematic review of all available evidence and concluded that the supposed benefits of medicalization for gender dysphoric youth do not outweigh the known risks. Sweden is now prioritizing psychotherapeutic interventions. (18) Similar course corrections are happening across Europe, for example in Finland, France, and the UK. (19)
This prudential shift is not yet happening in North America, however. Increasingly, American educational institutions are expected to actively participate in the social transition process by adopting preferred pronouns and organizing sports and facility use according to subjective gender identification. School staff may also be asked to participate in medical transition by administering puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones. Medical institutions in the United States are likewise urged to endorse the GAC model and offer both surgical and hormonal interventions. Because GAC is in conflict with a Catholic worldview, and, furthermore, is not supported by robust scientific evidence, it is important for Catholic institutions to adopt practices that harmonize with both faith, science and reason and enable them to perform their Catholic mission.
III. Policy
Catholic institutions and programs cannot endorse gender identity theory nor enable any form of gender transition, whether social or medical. This means that names, pronouns, facilities use, attire, and sports participation will depend upon biological sex identity, rather than self-perceived gender identity.
3.1 Language: Designations and pronouns should accord with biological sex. (20) Any formal institutional documentation should use legal names. Nicknames may be used on an informal basis, according to prudential judgment, as long as this is not part of a social/gender transition process.
3.2 Facilities: Restrooms and locker rooms should be organized according to biological sex. Access to single-use facilities may be approved by the school administration on a case-by-case basis. Our Diocesan parishes, organizations, and institutions are permitted to have individual-use bathrooms which are available for all members of the respective community.
3.3 Sports and extracurriculars: Participation in any sex-segregated activity should be based on biological sex, rather than self-perceived gender.
3.4 Attire: Where dress codes exists, all persons should abide by the dress or uniform code that accords with his or her biological sex.
3.5 Educational materials: All informational and pedagogical materials should align with a Catholic understanding of the human person.
3.6 Formation: Schools should offer age-appropriate curricula and conversations about gender and sexuality in the context of the Catholic worldview.
3.7 Parental involvement: As parents are the primary educators, parents must be fully included in discussion about the gender policy as it relates to their child.
3.8 Medication: No person is permitted to have on-site or distribute medications for the purpose of medical gender transition.
3.9 Signage: Catholic institutions should not post signage or display symbols in support of gender identity theory.
3.10 Protecting the Vulnerable: Parishes, schools, and other Catholic institutions or organizations should take the necessary precautions, in accord with the policies of this document, to avoid bullying and to protect the integrity of those who may express tension or concerns about their biological sex.
IV. Whole-Person Affirmation: A Catholic Response
A response to gender identity theory that is both truthful and loving cannot end with simply stating what Catholic institutions won’t do. Catholics must also articulate what we will do by offering a positive vision of the human person and a path of accompaniment for gender-questioning youth and their families.
A Catholic approach should offer whole-person affirmation, rather than restricting affirmation to a subjective sense of gender identity. This means affirming the entire person: body and soul. Whole-person affirmation begins by affirming the belovedness of every person. The first and most important truth that each young person needs to hear is this: you are infinitely loved. You are a living, breathing icon of God, and in this very moment, God is willing your existence, because he delights in you.
Whole-person affirmation also affirms the goodness and sacramentality of the body. Our body reveals our personhood. This is not something we need to force the body to do; the body is always doing it. Nonetheless, a positive view of embodiment also acknowledges its burdens. Being a body is difficult and painful at times; the limits and vulnerabilities of being a body reveal our interdependence on one another and ultimately our dependence upon God, and our need for his healing.
In our fallen world, we all experience a sense of disintegration, inner tensions between our reason, our will, and our desires. Sometimes we can experience our human condition as a living contradiction. Nevertheless, the Christian revelation shows us that the resolution to this often-painful dilemma cannot be achieved through externalizing, projecting or “acting-out” those antinomies and disharmonies, but rather through arduous inner work and relying on the grace of God. Some people can also experience deep disharmony with their bodies, or a sense of incongruence with their sex. The experience of sex incongruence or dysphoria is not itself sinful, just as concupiscence itself is not a sin. (21) Those who experience gender dysphoria should not be judged, rejected, or ignored, but met with compassion.
Whole-person affirmation also affirms the uniqueness of the individual. Every human person is a masterpiece of the Creator. There is no one “right way” to be a boy or girl, a man or a woman. While each person participates in the reality of sexual difference, each individual is unique. Young people need to be given positive and diverse models of manhood and womanhood, and encouraged to discern and develop their distinct gifts and singular personalities. The Catholic tradition is rich with saints and exemplars who lived out the vocation to love in myriad ways, and some of them did not conform with the gender stereotypes and norms of their time. Gender identity theory can at times reinforce restrictive gender stereotypes by claiming that a gender-atypical child is actually the opposite sex. Because the Catholic worldview affirms that gender—one’s identity as man or woman—is grounded in the sexed body, rather than cultural stereotypes that are currently in vogue, there is great freedom and diversity in how masculinity and femininity are lived out in the world.
Whole-person affirmation also affirms the need for accompaniment. Accompaniment is a commitment to walk alongside someone, an ongoing process of being-with. To accompany is to say with both word and action: “I will be with you in this process of discernment and discovery, which may involve disagreement, because I care about your ultimate good.” Pope Francis describes the art of accompaniment in his encyclical Evangelii Gaudium. Accompaniment is a pilgrimage, a “journey with Christ to the Father,” not a “sort of therapy supporting [someone’s] self-absorption.” (22) Accompaniment is characterized by the “art of listening,” listening that is “respectful and compassionate.” (23) Accompaniment requires great patience and “docility to the Spirit,” as well as humility—an awareness of our own limits—and reverence for the ultimate mystery within each person that only God can fully know. (24)
We are given a model of accompaniment in sacred scripture at the end of the gospel of Luke, when Jesus meets two disciples on the road to Emmaus. He begins by meeting them where they are—in this case, fleeing Jerusalem, full of angst and fear. He asks them questions; he seeks to understand what they are thinking and feeling. He listens. He does not impose upon them; in fact, he waits for an invitation to stay with them. He discloses the truth gradually, tactically—but he does teach them the truth; he leads them into deeper knowledge of himself. The journey they are walking has an ultimate destination, and in the end, the disciples return to Jerusalem in joyful worship, set free from fear.
Gender identity theory and gender affirming care offer a simplistic and a psychologically regressive response to a person in distress. GAC is neither patient nor inquisitive, but quick to impose a one-size-fits-all framework that obscures comorbid conditions, complex circumstances, and the developmental process of adolescent identity formation. (25) Any therapeutic approach that does not address the whole person, body and soul, cannot lead to human flourishing and conflicts with the Catholic faith.
In this time of great confusion about gender, Catholic institutions must respond not with reactionary fear or unthinking compliance, but with whole-person affirmation of each beloved person entrusted to their care.
☩
Glossary of Terms
Biological Sex: The sex with which a person is born, regardless of acceptance or perceived identity.
Gender Identity Theory: the belief that one’s identity as a man/boy or girl/woman (or both/neither) is based on subjective self-perception rather than biological sex.
Gender Identity: a central concept in Gender Identity Theory that is often defined in a circular way as “an inner sense of one’s own gender.”
Gender: one’s sexed human nature as a man or a woman (or boy or girl). In Gender Identity Theory, this is based on self-perception. In a Catholic understanding, manhood and womanhood encompass the whole person. Thus, gender includes biological sex, as well as the psychological, spiritual, and socio-cultural dimensions of human personhood. While gender (e.g. woman) can be distinguished from sex (e.g. female), gender cannot be separated from sex. (26)
Sex: the organization of the entire body according to the production of large gametes (female) or small gametes (male). Female human beings have the innate potential to create life within, and male human beings have the innate potential to create life in another. This potential exists even if it is prevented from being actualized, e.g. because of age or infertility.
Intersex/Disorders of Sexual Development: an umbrella term that encompasses a range of conditions that result in abnormal development of certain sexual characteristics. A more precise term, and one used by the medical establishment, is “Disorders of Sexual Development” (DSD). DSDs are extremely rare (approx. 1 in 2000) and do not represent a “third sex,” but rather a range of conditions that disrupt typical sexual development. (27)
Gender Affirmative Care: the therapeutic model based on gender identity theory that urges people with gender dysphoria to reject their biological sex and adopt the social identity of their preferred gender. May also include modifying the appearance of the body through puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, or surgery.
Gender non-conforming: a general descriptor for traits and behaviors that do not align with cultural gender stereotypes.
Gender Dysphoria: the experience of clinically significant discomfort or distress related to a felt incongruence between perceived gender identity and biological sex.
Gender incongruence: a sense of inner conflict or mismatch between one’s perceived gender and biological sex. May or may not create a feeling of dysphoria.
Gender-questioning: a catch-all term for people who are trying to navigate questions or difficulties related to gender.
Endnotes
1. Report Reveals Sharp Rise in Transgender Young People in the US. The New York Times. June 10, 2022. The full report from the Williams Institute can be found here:
2. This data is taken from the Gender Identity Service of the NHS in the UK. It should be noted that in the 2020-21 year, referrals dipped slightly, by 13%, the first time they have decreased since this surge began. https://gids.nhs.uk/professionals/number-of-referrals/
3. Wiepjes, C.M., Nota, N.M., de Blok, C.J.M., et al (2018). The Amsterdam Cohort of Gender Dysphoria Study (1972-2015): Trends in Prevalence, Treatment, and Regrets. Journal of Sexual Medicine 15 (4). See also: Delahunt, J.W., Denison, H.J., Sim, D.A., et al (2018). Increasing rates of people identifying as transgender presenting to Endocrine Services in the Wellington region. N Z Med J 131: 33-42. See also: Kaltiala-Heino, R., Sumia, M., Työläjärvi, M. et al (2015). Two years of gender identity service for minors: overrepresentation of natal girls with severe problems in adolescent development. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 9 (1). Aitken, M., Steensma, T.D., Blanchard, R., et al (2015). Evidence for an altered sex ratio in clinic-referred adolescents with gender dysphoria. J Sex Med 12 (3): 756-63.
4. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, §356.
5. Ibid, §365
6. Ibid, §362
7. This is often misunderstood as biologistic gender essentialism. It is not. It is, rather, a description of the archetypal forms of humanity.
8. Ibid, §369
9. Pope Francis, Laudato Si, §155.
10. “Gender-Affirming Care and Young People.” HHS Office of Population Affairs. March 2022.
11. Green, A. E., DeChants, J. P., Price, M. N., & Davis, C. K. (2022). Association of Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy With Depression, Thoughts of Suicide, and Attempted Suicide Among Transgender and Nonbinary Youth. The Journal of Adolescent Health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, 70(4), 643–649.
12. de Vries, A.L.C. & Cohen-Kettenis, P.T. (2012). Clinical Management of Gender Dysphoria in Children and Adolescents: The Dutch Approach. Journal of Homosexuality, 59:3, 301-320.
13. Debarbo, C.J.M. (2020). Rare cause of testicular torsion in a transwoman: A case report. Urology Case Reports 33. See also: Trussler, J. T., & Carrasquillo, R. J. (2020). Cryptozoospermia Associated With Genital Tucking Behavior in a Transwoman. Reviews in urology, 22 (4), 170–173. See also: Peitzmeier, S., Gardner, I., Weinand, J., Corbet A. & Acevedo, K. (2017). Health impact of chest binding among transgender adults: a community-engaged, cross-sectional study. Culture, Health & Sexuality 19 (1): 64-75. See also: Poteat, T., Malik, M., & Cooney, E. (2018). Understanding the health effects of binding and tucking for gender affirmation. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science 2 (Suppl 1), 76. See also: Peitzmeier, S.M., Silberholz, J., Gardner, I.H., Weinand, J. & Acevedo, K. (2021). Time to First Onset of Chest Binding-Related Symptoms in Transgender Youth. Pediatrics 147 (3). See also: Cumming, R., Sylvester, K. & Fuld, J.P. (2016). Understanding the effects on lung function of chest binder use in the transgender population. Thorax 71.
14. Sievert ED, Schweizer K, Barkmann C, Fahrenkrug S, Becker-Hebly I. (2021). Not social transition status, but peer relations and family functioning predict psychological functioning in a German clinical sample of children with Gender Dysphoria. Clin Child Psychol Psychiatry. 26(1):79-95. These findings corroborate an earlier 2019 study that compared socially transitioned children with gender non-conforming children who had not socially transitioned. Wong, Wang Ivy & van der Miesen, Anna & Li, Tjonnie & MacMullin, Laura & Vanderlaan, Doug. (2019). Childhood social gender transition and psychosocial well-being: A comparison to cisgender gender-variant children. Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology. 7. 241-253.
15. For a thorough overview of existing evidence, see Paul Hruz M.D. (2021). “Medical Approaches to Gender Dysphoria.” Transgender Issues in Catholic Health Care. Ed. Edward J. Furton. The National Catholic Bioethics Center, pp. 1-41.
16. Dhejne C, Lichtenstein P, Boman M, Johansson ALV, Långström N, et al. (2011) “Long-Term Follow-Up of Transsexual Persons Undergoing Sex Reassignment Surgery: Cohort Study in Sweden.” PLOS ONE 6(2): e16885.
17. Hughto JMW, Gunn HA, Rood BA, Pantalone DW (2020). “Social and Medical Gender Affirmation Experiences Are Inversely Associated with Mental Health Problems in a US Non-Probability Sample of Transgender Adults.” Arch Sex Behav. 49(7):2635-2647.
18. “Updated recommendations for hormone therapy for gender dysphoria in young people.” Sweden National Board of Health and Welfare. Feb. 22, 2022.
19. “Doubts are growing about therapy for gender-dysphoric children,” The Economist. May 13, 2021. “Puberty Blockers: French Medical Academy Urges Great Caution.” The National Review. April 6, 2022. “The Cass Review: Independent review of gender identity services for children and young people,” interim report published March 10, 2022.
20. Proponents of gender identity theory often point to “intersex” conditions to suggest that biological sex is ambiguous and exists on a spectrum. “Intersex” is an umbrella term that encompasses a range of conditions that result in abnormal development of certain sexual characteristics. A more precise term, and one used by the medical establishment, is “Disorders of Sexual Development” (DSD). DSDs are rare and do not represent a “third sex,” but rather a range of conditions that disrupt typical sexual development. DSDs are best understood as variations within the categories of male and female; in fact, many DSDs are sex-specific. The label “intersex” is often misused to imply that there is a third sex, or a category beyond male and female. This is both inaccurate and dehumanizing, because it implies that males and females who are born with an irregularity in the process of sexual development are not really male nor female, but something “other.” It is harmful to people with DSDs to have their unique circumstances and needs conflated with gender identity theory, because all DSDs have objectively measurable manifestations of a diagnosable condition that is physiological, whereas gender self-identification is based on subjective experience. Furthermore, the vast majority of DSDs do not result in apparent sex ambiguity at birth. Even in the extremely rare cases that do, a careful look at the entire person will reveal which sex predominates. There has never been, in medical history, a truly hermaphroditic human being, i.e., capable of producing both small and large gametes. Conversations about DSDs should always focus on how best to support the unique needs of the individual person, with holistic health and well-being in mind.
21. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, §2515.
22. Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium §170.
23. Ibid, §171.
24. Ibid, §172
25. GAC’s reductive and positivistic approach to the complexities and paradoxes of being human opens the door to a kind of scientistic solutionism that relies on the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industry and the medicalization of the human subject for answers. As with all ideologies and “-isms”, it seeks to impose on suffering humans a one-sided and totalitarian program that only causes more suffering and lasting damage.
26. Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia, §56.
27. “About Disorders of Sexual Development.” DSD Guidelines. Consortium on Disorders of Sexual Development. Accessed July 2022.