The Diocese of Worcester’s New Gender Policy Is a Bit Too Familiar

Today’s post is from guest contributor David Palmieri, a theology teacher and founder of Without Exception, a grassroots network of secondary educators dedicated to discerning the art of accompaniment for LGBTQ+ students in Catholic high schools, and received an award from the National Catholic Educational Association in 2021.

On August 15th, the news broke about a new sexual orientation and gender identity policy in the Diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts. Entitled “Catholic Education and the Human Person,” this policy was sent to Catholic schools by Bishop Robert McManus on June 29th with the request that it be included in student/family handbooks.

While this policy document may be new to the Worcester diocese, a close examination reveals that it is almost an exact  copy of the “Addenda to the Manual of Policies and Regulations for Elementary and Secondary Catholic Schools of Arkansas” released on July 15, 2016 by the Diocese of Little Rock, Arkansas. I have spent countless hours studying more than 40 diocesan policies on gender identity, so there were some signals that revealed the amazing similarity.

My first clue was a misspelling of the Holy Father’s name (“Frances”), which appears in both policies. This error prompted me to take a closer look. My second clue was that the opening quotation from Canon Law about the “proper mission” of Catholic education rang a bell. Then, there was the unique phrase “antiquated notions,” which I had seen before. Finding these unusual coincidences, I dug deeper and discovered the Worcester policy is a near-total match to the Little Rock document. Policies from the Diocese of Wichita and the Archdiocese of San Antonio also belong to this Little Rock “family tree” of policies.

This discovery is significant for at least three reasons.

First, it demonstrates cooperation among dioceses in the creation of these policies. For example, in addition to the Little Rock “family tree” there are additional policy groupings. The policies in the dioceses of Boise and Memphis are copied from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee policy. The policies in the Archdiocese of Fairbanks and the dioceses of Lansing and Salina share significant similarities with the policy in the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois. Similarity can be seen again policies from the dioceses of Las Vegas, Joliet, and the Archdiocese of New York.

Second, these undisclosed partnerships demonstrate a lack of transparency in the process of policy development. To expect the announcement of every detail in the policy process is admittedly unwise, but there needs to be an attempt at transparency of process. What are the goals? What is the timeline? Who are the people involved? Without this information, we continue to see the same pattern emerge over and over again. People are surprised and hurt, and dioceses fall into the negative news cycle. It is a bad look for our one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church.

Third, the “family tree effect” does not promote confidence that there is local consultation when the policies are written. Instead, it looks like some church leaders consult other church leaders in other parts of the country, overlooking the people and credentialed experts in their own dioceses. That kind of process is inconsistent with the development of a synodal church.

Concerning the policy copied by the Diocese of Worcester, it is unfortunate that the misspelling of Pope Francis’ name is preserved in the document. That kind of inattention to detail sends a negative message to those whose lives are affected by these policies. Shall we implement these policies in our schools with the same haste and rashness, without pause to consider the “grammar of love,” which Pope Francis promoted in his 2018 apostolic exhortation on young people?

And what of the “proper mission” of Catholic education which the Worcester/Little Rock policy says it promotes? In the same week that the Diocese of Worcester issued this policy, the National Catholic Educational Association released their revised and updated National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools (NSBECS). These standards were updated in part to honor the specific ideal from the Congregation for Catholic Education that a Catholic school is a “school for all.”

The Diocese of Worcester provides the latest example of “no compromise” policies regarding gender identity. After more than three dozen such policies in the U.S. church, we need to find a better way forward that transcends bitter conflicts in the public forum. The first principle was already given to us in “Always Our Children,” when the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Marriage and Family wrote, “Strive first to listen.” And much before that, Jesus gave it to us right: “Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear” (Mk 4:23)

Last week, Bondings 2.0 reported on two Catholic high schools in the Diocese of Worcester, sponsored respectively by the Xavierian Brothers and the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, who said they would not be including the new gender policy in their handbook. To read about this story and other resistance to the Worcester diocese’s policy, click here.

—David Palmieri, August 24, 2023