Archbishop Negatively Compares Gender Transitions to Alcohol Use During Pregnancy

The Archdiocese of Detroit has issued new policies concerning gender identity, joining dozens of other U.S. dioceses which have already implemented transgender-negative restrictive rules.

In a pastoral letter released earlier this spring, Archbishop Allen Vigneron refers to what he frames as “gender confusion” in harsh, critical terms. Accompanying the letter was a set of policies for Catholic schools and parishes mandating that individuals be treated according to their sex assigned at birth, rather than gender, when it comes to issues like pronouns, clothing, and facilities. 

The pastoral letter, titled “The Good News About God’s Plan: A Pastoral Letter on the Challenges of Gender Identity,” was written just a few months before the Vatican’s publication of Dignitas Infinita, which condemned “Gender Theory” and “Sex Change.” Vigneron’s letter seeks to address the “challenges of gender identity,” which he names as one of the most pressing cultural challenges today. The archbishop does not use the term “transgender” in the letter, referring instead to “individuals struggling with gender confusion.”

Vigneron posits that trans individuals confusedly adhere to a dualistic worldview which separates body and soul, and he denies the science behind gender-affirming care as a positive course. Rather, he compares efforts to aid trans people as comparable to “a cardiologist who seeks to be compassionate by affirming a patient’s smoking, or an obstetrician who avoids telling patients about the dangers of drinking alcohol during pregnancy.” Later, while speaking about the issue on a podcast, the archbishop said the movement for trans affirmation is “a toxin that’s been deposited in in our culture” and “a virus.”

The archbishop also appears to dismiss the tragic reality of suicidality among transgender youth, saying, “Not infrequently, parents are subject to manipulative claims that if they do not affirm their child’s gender preferences, they risk driving him or her to suicide.” He insists that this pastoral letter “is meant as a condemnation of no one, but as a loving accompaniment to all,” and writes:

“Individuals who face the challenge of gender confusion deserve, first and foremost, to receive our love, compassion, and support. We must lovingly accompany them by acknowledging their pain, listening to them, making sure they know they are heard, and assuring them of God’s personal love for them. Too often in our efforts to share the Good News we can lose sight of the good which comes from authentic accompaniment of individuals in pain.”

LGBTQ+ Catholics and allies are pointing out the letter’s harmful and outdated rhetoric, as well as the blatant absence of the pastoral compassion that Vigneron himself recommends.

Carolyn Shalhoub, vice president of Dignity/Detroit, a group of LGBTQ+ Catholics in Michigan, told the Detroit Free Press:

“‘When I first saw … the pastoral letter, I felt sick to my stomach… as a lifelong Catholic, regular church-goer, and active member of the Dignity Detroit community, I am saddened by the deliberate embrace of inaccurate and harmful policies that affect children, teachers, staff and parents. We have trans persons in our congregation. They have suffered greatly to get where they are today.'”

Linda Karle Nelson, a parent to LGBTQ+ children and leader of Families with Dignity, remarked:

“‘Although the letter strives to use language that is ‘welcoming’ and empathetic with the struggles of trans people, the tone of the letter is one that demeans and delegitimizes the self-identity of transgender people.'”

“It feels very clear to me that is coming straight from a dogmatic, rather than an experiential position,” said Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of DignityUSA. She added, “It’s … outdated Catholic dogma.”

While it should not be dismissed that the letter explicitly calls for accompaniment, listening, and compassion, such genuine compassion and care demands more than mere words. The desire to accompany and care for trans people is good, but it is the bare minimum that pastoral leaders are reminded of the requirement to treat all with sensitivity and respect, even if such a reminder remains necessary.

To truly recognize the full humanity and God-given dignity of trans people, we need more: more encounters fueled by a sincere and humble desire to learn, more opportunities for trans voices to be heard in our church, and more reverence for the diversity of human experience that God has breathed life into.

—Phoebe Carstens (they/them), New Ways Ministry, April 18, 2024