Leading Catholic Newspaper Condemns Transgender-Negative Diocesan Policies
A leading U.S. Catholic newspaper has announced its opposition to diocesan gender policies that negate the experiences of transgender and nonbinary people.
The National Catholic Reporter (NCR) published an editorial arguing that the new guidelines, which send extremely negative messages, are harmful for LGBTQ+ youth, especially given the already high rates of suicidality and mental health issues this group experience.
More than 30 U.S. dioceses have released policies regarding LGBTQ+ treatment in schools, with the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon being the latest. These policies reinforce a strict gender binary, such as requiring the of use names and pronouns according to a person’s sex assigned at birth, rather than their gender.
NCR charges that these new policies are harmful, since they target an already marginalized population. In addition, NCR takes issue with the lack of transparency regarding the how these policies were prepared. For example, it is unclear if trans and nonbinary people were consulted in creating new guidelines. The editorial states:
“Students, parents and schools most affected by these policies — indeed, all Catholics — deserve more information about the process by which they have come to be, about who or what is prompting them, and about who is at the table when they are being created. At the very least, dioceses and archdioceses need to apply the values of dialogue and transparency to the process of creating LGBTQ policies, and to discerning whether such policies are necessary.
Similarly, the editorial questions what motivated dioceses to establish such policies:
“What is prompting these policies: On-the-ground concerns? Questions raised by conservative Catholics, perhaps in reaction to moves toward greater acceptance in the broader culture? A sincere desire to uphold what bishops believe is a core Catholic teaching? We don’t know because the process hasn’t been transparent.”
The editorial goes on to list some ways that Catholic institutions could improve their relationship with the public, especially LGBTQ+ Catholics. One necessary step is to open up communication between dioceses and those in the community:
“. . . (T)he church needs to listen to people who are affected by them. Ideally, before any policy like this goes in place, the bishop or administration of the school should consider going on a retreat with young people struggling with their identity, just to listen to them.
“It is possible for church leaders to address these issues more carefully and with some level of transparency and dialogue, as the recent process in the Diocese of Davenport, Iowa, attests. The bishop there formed a committee and sought to educate himself and others, with input from transgender people themselves. But the Davenport Diocese is an outlier.”
NCR is living up to strong Catholic values of caring for people’s well-being and treating them with respect and dignity by standing up for transgender and gender-nonconforming youth. As the editorial points out, LGBTQ+ individuals are a vital part of the church community, and their voices should be heard within decision-making processes. Hopefully, church leaders will learn that implementing anti-transgender policies actively goes against the creation of what the newspaper calls a “more welcoming, more open, more transparent” church.
—Sarah Cassidy (she/her), New Ways Ministry, February 28, 2023
I appreciate Sarah’s informative reporting about NCR’s editorial which mentions the Diocese of Davenport, IA. As an Iowa native and having the privilege of graduating from St. Ambrose College there years ago, the openness of this Diocese has always been uplifting. I remember moving to California and found the church in Los Angeles far behind what I had been accustomed to in Davenport.
How are our Catholic students going to learn compassion, brotherhood, and basic human decency toward others created just as they are if transgender and gender-nonconforming youth are kept invisible. This is the current hot button issue now and dioceses have not learned to follow how Jesus would respond to those on the margins. We used to do that to other groups who were perceived as different than the mainstream. Thus discrimination, fear and hatred so often was kept alive and passed on from generation to generation. Fortunately many of our students are seeing this injustice and protesting despite their Bishops failing to follow the high road. Much praise for the NCR editorial as a way to accompany students who are different, and to encourage everyone to keep protesting and demand justice.
I’m grateful for the openness and genuine care offered by NCR.
Thank you for leading with love. Respect and dignity for ALL is the only way forward. The only way to get there is to talk to people who are actually trans, and to do the work of learning what peer reviewed studies through the most respected medical organizations have shown.
The Catholic Church teaches that faith is based on: Scripture, Tradition, and Magisterium.
The Episcopal Church teaches faith is based on: Scripture, Tradition, and Reason.
As a dad of a transgender person, I find little support from the Magisterium, yet hope from calling on Reason: based on science, and listening to the lived experience of our adult kid, and others like her–which is why I’m grateful for the voice of many Episcopalians on this matter. Thank God for (what Pope Paul VI called) our “sister church.”
Mary, our Mother, pray for us.