Gender Policies Archives - New Ways Ministry

Bondings 2.0 Heads to Rome for the Synod!

September 26, 2023/1 Comment/in Anti-LGBTQ Criminalization, Arts, Books & Culture, Employment Issues, Gender Identity, Gender Policies, Healthcare, Hierarchy, Higher Education, LGBTQ Clergy & Religious, Marriage & Family, New Ways Ministry, Parish Life & Pastoral Care, Politics & Human Rights, Same-Gender Blessings, Schools & Youth, Synod on Synodality, Theology & Church Teaching, Uncategorized /by Robert Shine, Managing Editor

A week from today, Bondings 2.0 editor Francis DeBernardo and I will begin reporting live from Rome on the Synod on Synodality' first global assembly. Throughout this multi-year process, LGBTQ+ issues have been a recurring priority for the people of God. Read More

Amid Political Protests, Canadian Catholic Schools Affirm LGBTQ+ Students

September 25, 2023/1 Comment/in Gender Identity, Gender Policies, Politics & Human Rights, Schools & Youth, Uncategorized /by Robert Shine, Managing Editor

Canadian Catholic school boards expressed support for LGBTQ+ students in the face of nationwide protests against equality last week, with educators asserting that pro-LGBTQ+ policies are entirely consistent with Catholic identity. Read More

Cleveland Diocese’s New Gender Policy Is “Dangerous,” Say Catholic Protestors

September 21, 2023/5 Comments/in Employment Issues, Gender Identity, Gender Policies, Hierarchy, Marriage & Family, Parish Life & Pastoral Care, Schools & Youth /by Robert Shine, Managing Editor

Ohio Catholics have strongly criticized a new restrictive diocesan gender policy which threatens to ban LGBTQ+ people and allies from participation in the church should they act in an "inappropriate or scandalous way." Read More

Catholic Theology Needs Greater Respect for Bodily Autonomy, Writes Therapist

September 18, 2023/0 Comments/in Gender Identity, Gender Policies, Healthcare, Marriage & Family, Parish Life & Pastoral Care, Politics & Human Rights, Schools & Youth, Theology & Church Teaching /by Sarah Cassidy

While Thompson knows that “Catholics are supposed to believe” in the gender binary of only male and female, she cannot support this understanding. For her, that binary has been used as a form of control, power, and suppression. Read More

LGBTQ+ Advocates Gather at Worcester Diocese’s Chancery to Protest Gender Policy

September 12, 2023/2 Comments/in Gender Identity, Gender Policies, Hierarchy, Higher Education, Marriage & Family, Parish Life & Pastoral Care, Politics & Human Rights, Schools & Youth /by Robert Shine, Managing Editor

More than 100 people in Massachusetts gathered to oppose one diocese's new LGBTQ-negative schools policy, adding to sustained criticism of the policy, including from some church officials. Read More

Catholic School Staff, Parents, Students Protest Oakland Diocese’s Proposed Gender Policy

August 25, 2023/1 Comment/in Gender Identity, Gender Policies, Parish Life & Pastoral Care, Schools & Youth, Uncategorized /by Robert Shine, Managing Editor

A Catholic school community in California is trying to stop a transgender-negative policy from being released by the diocese, saying the bishop and diocesan officials have failed to dialogue and engage real concerns. Read More

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

August 24, 2023/4 Comments/in Gender Identity, Gender Policies, Hierarchy, Parish Life & Pastoral Care, Schools & Youth, Theology & Church Teaching /by Guest Contributor

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. Read More

Massachusetts Catholics, LGBTQ+ Advocates Condemn Worcester Diocese’s Gender Policy

August 22, 2023/0 Comments/in Gender Identity, Gender Policies, Marriage & Family, Parish Life & Pastoral Care, Schools & Youth, Uncategorized /by Robert Shine, Managing Editor

Backlash against the Diocese of Worcester's new policy on gender identity has continued, with some LGBTQ+ launching a petition ahead of local Pride celebrations kicking off next month. Read More

What Disability Theology Can Teach the Church About Transgender Identities

August 19, 2023/0 Comments/in Gender Identity, Gender Policies, Healthcare, Parish Life & Pastoral Care, Politics & Human Rights, Schools & Youth, Theology & Church Teaching, Uncategorized /by Angela Howard-McParland

Catholics should not be strangers to the deep connection between body and soul, refusing a binary that suggests we are composed of two separated entities. As Catholics, embodiment is central to the human experience and to God’s participation in the world, so how we treat the bodies of ourselves and others matters deeply. Read More

Catholic High Schools Refuse to Implement Worcester Bishop’s LGBTQ-Negative Policy

August 18, 2023/4 Comments/in Gender Identity, Gender Policies, Marriage & Family, Parish Life & Pastoral Care, Schools & Youth /by Robert Shine, Managing Editor

Two Catholic high schools in the Diocese of Worcester have rejected a new diocesan policy on LGBTQ+ issues, saying in a joint letter that the school's current policies are sufficient for "respecting the sacred dignity of the students entrusted to our care." Read More