One of those who resigned was a La Leche League founder.

The La Leche League international board recently directed all British affiliates to admit men who identify as women.

Men can feed babies

LGBT advocates say men identifying as women can, with the help of synthetic hormones, breastfeed.

The hormones induce lactation via nipple stimulation.

Founder resigns

Founded in 1956 in the US, the La Leche League aimed to offer mother-to-mother breastfeeding support.

The group's popularity spread, first in the US and then beyond.

Foundation member Marian Tompson, 94 (pictured), announced her resignation from the group's board of directors. The La Leche League has become "a travesty of my original intent" she said.

The group's aim was to "support biological women who want to give their babies the best start in life by breastfeeding them".

Now the focus has shifted "to include men who, for whatever reason, want to have the experience of breastfeeding" she pointed out.

She also noted that there has been "no careful long-term research on male lactation and how that may affect the baby".

"This shift from following the norms of nature, which is the core of mothering through breastfeeding, to indulging the fantasies of adults is destroying our organisation" Tompson wrote.

She says she has left "the door open to come back when La Leche League returns to its original mission and purpose".

Resignations begin

Another La Leche League stalwart also resigned this week over the group's new transgender rules.

Scottish breastfeeding advocate Miriam Main has served for several years as a lactation counsellor and as well on the council of directors of the League's Great Britain affiliate.

She says she became concerned about the League's future when she noticed changes being made to official group literature. The term "mother" was replaced with "parent" and "breastfeed" replaced with "chestfeed".

A "group of zealots from within the organisation" propelled further changes, she said.

She ordered the La Leche League to accept into support groups "men who wished to breastfeed".

She said critics were told they were transphobic.

'We were compared to racists and Nazis" by organisation leaders.

A petition to the La Leche League International Board eventually led to an order for all affiliates in Great Britain to offer breastfeeding support "to all nursing parents, regardless of their gender identity or sex".

The organisation's leaders have "shown that theoretical male lactation trumps the needs of real women living in the UK" Main says.

Source

• Catholic News Agency

She is concerned the US federal-funded research findings could be "weaponised" to oppose gender-transition drugs for minors, as the debate over "gender-affirming care" reverberates through political and medical spheres.

"I do not want our work to be weaponised" she says. "It has to be exactly on point, clear and concise. And that takes time."

She will publish when she's ready. But right now, she says her team has been delayed over National Institute of Health (NIH) funding cuts to the project, which the NIH denied.

The research

Olson-Kennedy began the study in 2015 as part of a broader federal-funded project on transgender health. She and her team sought to mirror the Dutch Protocol, as its research results have never been replicated.

The Dutch protocol - a paper published in 2006 - found children whose gender dysphoria was treated with puberty blockers had better mental health outcomes.

It helped spur the worldwide explosion of gender youth clinics, where children who identify as the opposite sex may be treated with puberty blocker drugs, cross-sex hormones and surgeries.

Despite the Dutch Protocol's claims that children would experience decreased depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts, Olson-Kennedy and her team's results contradict this.

They found after two years research, the mental health of the subjects — 95 adolescents with an average age of 11 — who received puberty blockers didn't change much.

"They're in really good shape when they come in, and they're in really good shape after two years" says Olson-Kennedy.

Although she has found mental health remains unchanged, Olson-Kennedy says puberty blocker drugs have their place in treatment options for transgender youth.

She says she has "prescribed puberty blockers and hormonal treatments to transgender children and adolescents for 17 years" and has seen "how profoundly beneficial they can be".

The Washington Times challenged her assertion about young transgender people's mental health however, citing a 2020 progress report showing about one-quarter of the children suffered from depression and one-quarter reported thoughts of suicide.

Suppression criticised

Olson-Kennedy's refusal to publish her part of the research into the overall transgender health report has caused an outcry on social media.

Critics are accusing the researchers and the agency of placing activism over scientific evidence.

"This is not science. This is activism and the NIH should not be funding it" - Camilo Ortiz, a professor of clinical psychology at Long Island University, wrote on X.

"A real scientist accepts what the data show and has an allegiance to the truth."

The NIH is not concerned that - despite being provided the research funds - Olson-Kennedy won't be publishing her results.

The agency leaves it to researchers to decide how and when to publish their results although they are encouraged to do so, a spokesperson told the Washington Times.

Source

• Washington Times

The Holy See Press Office says Francis made the journey to visit Sister Geneviève Jeanningros (81) of the Little Sisters of Jesus who has been caring for homosexuals and transgender people at the park for 56 years.

Jeanningros lives at the park with Sister Anna Amelia.

After greeting the fairground workers and circus artists, the Pope was treated to a show.

He also blessed a statue of "Our Lady, Protector of the Traveling Show and the Circus" and greeted the families and children present.

LGBT Ministry

Francis met Jeanningros earlier this year after the general audience at the Vatican. She told him that he had received the LGBT community she assists during an earlier audience.

"They love him so much because this is the first time that a pope welcomes trans and gay people" she said after his visit to the fun park last week.

"They thank him because they have finally found a Church that has reached out to them" said Jeanningros.

Source

• CNA

With the legal support of ADF International, the Querétaro Diocese successfully fended off a demand from the Mexican National Institute for Data Protection to alter church records according to a transgender-identifying individual's self-identification.

The transgender-identifying claimant first filed a petition against the Querétaro Catholic Diocese in 2021, following a demand for the church to change the registered name and male sex on the particular baptismal records, which the church denied.

The complainant held that, under Mexican data protection law, the church must submit to the demand, regardless of biological fact and historical accuracy.

Read More

Dr Hilary Cass says she's been told not to travel on public transport because of fears for her safety.

Detractors - including an MP - have been spreading "vile disinformation" around her report for Britain's National Health Service (NHS).

Despite online threats, Cass wants to help implement her review's 32 recommendations.

Children at risk

Cass says disinformation about her transgender research started the day before the report's publication.

A social media influencer published a list of papers, claiming Cass's researchers rejected them because they weren't randomised control trials.

But Cass says the list had "absolutely nothing to do with" the report or any of the papers.

Deliberately trying to undermine an evidence-based report about children's healthcare is unforgivable she adds.

Despite being untrue, the influencer's claims about Cass's report spread.

Social media activists soon took up the influencer's cause.

They claimed the report included only two of 100 studies.

Without verifying this, Labour MP Dawn Butler told the House of Commons: "There are around 100 studies that have not been included in this Cass report and we need to know why."

In fact, researchers had appraised all 103 papers. From these, they pulled data from 60 - those of high and medium quality, Cass says.

Shaky foundations

Cass's NHS review found that an entire field of medicine aimed at enabling children to change gender had been "built on shaky foundations".

She found no evidence supporting the global clinical practice of prescribing hormones to under-18s. These hormones pause puberty or enable the young person to transition to the opposite sex.

The treatment "was not a safe or viable long-term option" Cass's 2022 interim report said.

As a result, Cass says the Gender Identity Development Service (Gids) was ordered to close.

After Liz Truss became Tory Party leader and prime minister, Cass says "the debate got more aggressive".

Aggression continues

Cass's newly released final report involved transgender patients, families, academics and doctors.

While most had not "weaponised" her report, some activist groups are "pretty aggressive" Cass says.

Last week NHS adult gender clinics agreed to share data about 9,000 children treated at the Tavistock clinic.

Cass says the Tavistock clinic and five others had refused to co-operate with her research. The refusal was "co-ordinated" and "ideologically driven" she says.

Tbe Tavistock clinic also refused to provide data on detransitioners whom a psychiatrist had examined.

The review team had wanted to see if risk factors in a patient's history could be linked to detransition.

Ideological capture

The House of Commons Equalities minister says there had been an ideological capture of institutions, including the NHS. This needs correcting if Cass's recommendations were to be fully delivered.

Meanwhile, long waiting lists for treating children with gender dysphoria have seen several private clinics opening.

Cass finds this concerning, saying young people would not get the level of holistic care NHS clinics provided.

• The Times

This is a setback for transgender people who had hoped Pope Francis might be setting the stage for a more welcoming approach from the Catholic Church.

World Religions

Around the world, major religions have diverse approaches to gender identity, and the inclusion or exclusion of transgender people.

Some examples:

Christianity

The Catholic Church's disapproving stance toward gender transition is shared by some other denominations.

For example, the Southern Baptist Convention - the largest Protestant denomination in the United States - adopted a resolution in 2014 stating that "God's design was the creation of two distinct and complementary sexes, male and female."

It asserts that gender identity "is determined by biological sex, not by one's self-perception"

However, numerous mainline Protestant denominations welcome trans people as members and as clergy.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America elected an openly transgender man as a bishop in 2021.

Islam

In Islam, there isn't a single central religious authority and policies can vary in different regions.

Abbas Shouman, secretary-general of Al-Azhar's Council of Senior Scholars in Cairo, said that "for us, … sex conversion is completely rejected.

"It is God who has determined the … sex of the fetus and intervening to change that is a change of God's creation, which is completely rejected," Shouman added.

In Iran, the Shiite theocracy's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a religious decree, or fatwa, decades ago, opening the way for official support for gender transition surgery.

Hinduism

In Hindu society in South Asia, while traditional roles were and are still prescribed for men and women, people of non-binary gender expression have been recognised for millennia and played important roles in holy texts.

Third gender people have been revered throughout South Asian history with many rising to significant positions of power under Hindu and Muslim rulers.

One survey in 2014 estimated that around 3 million third gender people live in India alone.

Sanskrit, the ancient language of Hindu scriptures, has the vocabulary to describe three genders - masculine, feminine and gender-neutral.

The most common group of third gender people in India are known as the "hijras." While some choose to undergo gender reassignment surgery, others are born intersex. Most consider themselves neither male or female.

Some Hindus believe third gender people have special powers and the ability to bless or curse, which has led to stereotyping causing the community to be feared and marginalised.

Many live in poverty without proper access to healthcare, housing and employment.

In 2014, India, Nepal and Bangladesh, which is a Muslim-majority country, officially recognised third gender people as citizens deserving of equal rights.

The Supreme Court of India stated that "it is the right of every human being to choose their gender," and that recognition of the group "is not a social or medical issue, but a human rights issue."

Buddhism

Buddhism has traditionally adhered to binary gender roles, particularly in its monastic traditions where men and women are segregated and assigned specific roles.

These beliefs remain strong in the Theravada tradition, as seen in the attempt of the Thai Sangha Council, the governing Buddhist body in Thailand, to ban ordinations of transgender people.

More recently, the Theravada tradition has somewhat eased restrictions against gender nonconforming people by ordaining them in their sex recorded at birth.

However, the Mahayana, and Vajrayana schools of Buddhism have allowed more exceptions while the Jodo Shinshu sect has been even more inclusive in ordaining transgender monks both in Japan and North America.

In Tibetan Buddhism, Tashi Choedup, an openly queer monk, was ordained after their teacher refrained from asking about their gender identity as prescribed by Buddhist doctrine.

Many Buddhist denominations, particularly in the West, are intentionally inclusive of transgender people in their sanghas or gatherings.

Judaism

Reform Judaism is accepting of transgender people and allows for the ordination of trans rabbis.

According to David J. Meyer, who served for many years as a rabbi in Marblehead, Massachusetts, Jewish traditional wisdom allowed possibilities of gender identity and expression that differed from those typically associated with the sex assigned at birth.

"Our mystical texts, the Kabbalah, address the notion of transitioning from one gender to another," he wrote on a Reform-affiliated website.

It's different, for the most part, in Orthodox Judaism.

"Most transgender people will find Orthodox communities extremely difficult to navigate," says the Human Rights Campaign, a major U.S. LGBTQ-rights advocacy group.

"Transgender people are further constrained by Orthodox Judaism's emphasis on binary gender and strict separation between men and women," the HRC says.

"For example, a transgender person who has not medically transitioned poses a challenge for a rabbi who must decide whether that person will sit with men or women during worship."

Rabbi Avi Shafran, spokesman for the Orthodox Jewish organization Agudath Israel of America, wrote a blog post last year after appearing on an Israeli television panel to discuss transgender-related issues.

"There can be no denying that there are people who are deeply conflicted about their gender identities.

"They deserve to be safe from harm and, facing challenges the rest of us don't, deserve empathy and compassion," Shafran wrote.

"But the Torah and its extension, halacha, or Jewish religious law, are unequivocal about the fact that being born in a male body requires living the life of a man, and being born female entails living as a woman."

"In Judaism, each gender has its particular life-role to play," he added.

"The bodies God gave us are indications of what we are and what we are not, and of how He wants us to live our lives."

• First published in Religion News Service
• David Crary is an author at Religion News Service. Mariam Fam and Deepa Bharath are reporters with The Associated Press' global religion team.

The funeral was a cause of scandal and great controversy for several reasons.

First, Gentili was a publicly professed atheist.

Her stand-up comedy acts included jokes about blasphemous sex acts far too vulgar to put in print.

Second, Gentili spent a great number of years lobbying in favour of laws that the Church opposed. These included at the time of Gentili's death — the full legalisation of prostitution and solicitation.

Third, one of the many eulogies at the funeral proclaimed Gentili (in Spanish and English) to be "this whore, this great whore, Saint Cecilia, mother of all whores,".

This was met by rapturous applause and a standing ovation from the congregation.

During the same eulogy, two male speakers engaged in a kiss while still on the sanctuary.

Fourth, and I want to say least importantly in terms of scandal, Gentili was a biological man who had, for many years, identified as a woman.

Sacrilege and deceit

In the days following Gentili's funeral, the cathedral dean, Fr Enrique Salvo, issued a statement saying that the cathedral:

"only knew that family and friends were requesting a funeral Mass for a Catholic, and had no idea our welcome and prayer would be degraded in such a sacrilegious and deceptive way."

He also confirmed a Mass of reparation had been offered.

Some have suggested the cathedral staff either must have known of Gentili's notoriety and did not think it a problem. or were completely negligent in doing basic preparation for a funeral.

This would have involved meeting with the family and asking about the life and faith of the deceased.

What's more, an obituary published in the New York Times three days before the funeral would have given the cathedral enough information about the deceased.

Those organising the funeral insist they were not deceptive, and simply wanted to hold the funeral for an icon in an iconic venue.

Culture wars

I imagine the truth of the situation lies somewhere in the middle.

But rather than focusing what happened in this particular case, I think Gentili's funeral should be an invitation to the church.

It could more broadly consider whether it is time to come up with some specific protocols and procedures in the event more funerals are used as the next frontier in the culture wars.

Even if a priest does his due diligence prior to a funeral, there is no guarantee that he isn't going to show up on the day to a church full of activists who are there not in prayer, but protest.

Like Gentili's funeral, it could be about transgender rights and sex work.

Given the state of end-of-life laws here in Australia, it could be used as an event to reject church teaching on euthanasia and assisted suicide.

Liturgy or Mass?

The priest celebrating Gentili's funeral realised something was amiss prior to the funeral commencing and made the decision that there would be no funeral Mass, just a simple funeral liturgy.

It was prudent thinking on his part.

But perhaps bishops should also speak with their priests about strategies they might use in such situations and give them the confidence that they will have his support if they need to use them.

Perhaps, like in Gentili's case, a short liturgy might be used. This would not prevent a private Mass for the repose of the soul of the deceased being offered later.

Maybe Mass might still be celebrated but Holy Communion not distributed if things seem amiss or go awry — if such a thing is allowed under liturgical and canonical norms.

Maybe, when a funeral is requested and the deceased or their family is not known to the parish, some additional questions might be asked, or eulogies omitted, minimised or pre-submitted.

This might especially be necessary for funerals requested at the diocesan cathedral or other places of significance.

This isn't about denying people the graces of a funeral Mass.

I think the church should be generous with funerals because we are all sinners in need of God's mercy.

But this generosity shouldn't extend to those who reject the existence of God and who instead want to use our churches and clergy as props in a narcissistic pantomime, nor for those who want to co-opt our liturgies as weapons in the culture wars.

• Monica Doumit is the Director, Public Affairs and Engagement for the Archdiocese of Sydney and a columnist with The Catholic Weekly.
• First published in The Catholic Weekly Republished with permission.

The meeting sought to understand the challenges transgender people face. It included discussions with transgender individuals, their families, theologians, medical professionals and church ministry workers.

The move came against the backdrop of increasing state-based legislation and Catholic diocesan policies that critics argue negatively affect transgender individuals.

The meeting was organised by New Ways Ministry, a Catholic LGBTQ advocacy group.

New Ways Ministry, co-founded in 1977 by Loretto Sr Jeannine Gramick, has been at the forefront of advocacy for LGBTQ Catholics, despite facing historical opposition from the Vatican.

A step toward understanding

The day-and-a-half-long event, closed to both the public and press, sought to equip bishops with insights that would assist in enhancing pastoral care within their dioceses.

According to participants, the initiative reflects the varied reception and treatment of transgender individuals across Catholic dioceses and parishes nationwide.

Bishop John Stowe of Lexington, Kentucky highlighted the consensus among attendees about the legitimacy of transgender experiences.

"After hearing from medical experts and from transgender people, we are not talking about something that is fabricated. People have a right to be called as they wish to be called" he said.

Engaging in dialogue

The meeting, attended by some 40 individuals, marks a significant moment of engagement between church leaders and the LGBTQ community.

"We've all encountered pastoral situations related to transgender persons and for the most part felt inadequately prepared to deal with them" Stowe noted, underscoring the bishops' eagerness to attend and learn.

This gathering is the second of its kind following a previous event in January 2023 that focused on LGBTQ issues more broadly.

Moving forward

Participants shared their stories and experiences at the meeting, providing a platform for open and heartfelt dialogue.

Dominican Fr Charles Bouchard, a previous attendee, lauded the meetings as a "safe space" for bishops to discuss and explore these complex issues candidly.

While the meeting did not aim to produce a unified statement or theological plan, it represents a significant step in the church's ongoing efforts to engage more inclusively with LGBTQ individuals.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops continues to revise its ethical directives for Catholic health care institutions, with expectations to align closely with doctrinal stances on gender-affirming treatments.

Source

• NCR

Its board-approved nondiscrimation policy followed the putting together of the College's "President's Task Force for Gender Identity and Expression" earlier this year.

St Mary's Catholic College's updated policy says it "considers admission for undergraduate applicants whose sex is female or who consistently live and identify as women".

Among the 32 Board members are six religious sisters from the college's founding order and two priests.

Confirming its programmes are open to all, the College points to its mission: to 'empower women, through education, at all stages in life'.

"Essential to this mission is fostering a diverse, equitable and inclusive campus experience."

College president Katie Conboy says admitting men who identify as women "encompasses our commitment to operate as a Catholic women's college".

In a Novembr 21 email, she reportedly told students and faculty that the school is "by no means the first Catholic women's college to adopt a policy with this scope".

At this stage, how the new policy will work in practice is still being determined.

The President's Taskforce findings include recommendations for housing policies, the student newspaper reported.

Indiana's bishop pushes back

Indiana's Bishop Kevin Rhoades is pushing back against the plan to allow enrolment of transgender students at St Mary's.

He is urging the College Board to correct its admissions policy "in fidelity to the Catholic identity and mission it is charged to protect".

The Board should "reject ideologies of gender that contradict the authoritative teachings of the Catholic Church regarding the human person, sex and gender" he said in a 27 November statement.

"The desire of Saint Mary's College to show hospitality to people who identify as transgender is not the problem. The problem is a Catholic woman's college embracing a definition of woman that is not Catholic" he added.

Rhoades says he should have been included in the Board's decision-making regarding the transgender admissions.

"It is disappointing that I, as bishop of the diocese in which Saint Mary's College is located, was not included or consulted on a matter of important Catholic teaching" he says.

"To call itself a ‘women's college' and to admit male students who ‘consistently live and identify as women' suggests that the college affirms an ideology of gender that separates sex from gender and claims that sexual identity is based on the subjective experience of the individual."

Online backlash

"Just found out my alma mater [Saint Mary's] ... will be accepting BIOLOGICAL MEN starting next fall" one online post reportedly said.

Online comments are also reported as saying:

"This decision is blasphemous and a complete rejection of the Church and its teachings on gender and sexuality,"

Another post is reported as saying: "We [Catholics] have an issue here!! Don't allow your child to go to this school!! [Saint Mary's] Shame on YOU!".

• CNA
• Pillar

The Vatican's document, signed by Pope Francis and Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, was published on the Holy See's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith website on November 8.

Currently, the translation is available only in Italian and Portuguese.

The document is a clarification that came in response to inquiries from Brazilian Bishop Jose Negri of Santo Amaro.

In July, before the recent Synod on Synodality, Negri posed six questions to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith regarding the role of LGBT individuals in church sacraments.

Life of faith open to all

The document states that "A transgender person, even if they have undergone hormone therapy and sex-reassignment surgery, can receive baptism under the same conditions as other faithful, if there are no situations in which there is a risk of generating a public scandal or disorientation among the faithful."

The dicastery also reiterated the church's position that children of gay or transgender couples can be baptised, provided there is a well-founded hope they will be raised in the Catholic faith.

The same applies to transgender children and adolescents.

"In the case of transgender children or adolescents, they can receive baptism if they are well prepared and willing."

Echoing the words of Pope Francis, the document stresses that "the Church is not a customs house, but the fatherly home where there is room for every person with his or her difficult life."

Not satisfied with merely opening the door the document keeps the door wide open, stating that "another person in the family circle" other than the godparents, can also "vouch for the proper transmission of the Catholic faith to the person to be baptised."

The document shows that there are many rooms in the Father's house and states that baptism cannot be prevented "even if doubts remain about a person's objective moral situation." It recommends applying "pastoral prudence" in each circumstance.

LGBT+ Ministry

The document also emphasises that there is no current universal canonical legislation that prevents transgender individuals from serving as witnesses at a Catholic marriage.

While the responses encourage pastoral prudence and the need to prevent scandal and confusion among the faithful, the document underlines God's unconditional love and the church's openness to all people.

The document notes that while gay individuals in a relationship akin to marriage, particularly if known in the community, should probably not serve as godparents, they may be invited as witnesses to a baptism.

Again "pastoral prudence" applies.

Context

In July, speaking with a transgender person, Francis reached out saying "Even if we are sinners, he (God) draws near to help us. The Lord loves us as we are, this is God's crazy love."

Then during World Youth Day in Portugal Francis told the crowd there is room in the Church for everyone.

"In the Church there is room for everyone, everyone" he told hundreds of thousands of young people gathered in a large park in Lisbon. "Everyone, everyone, everyone!" he said several times.

"That is the Church, the Mother of all. There is room for everyone."

"This (document) is an important step forward in the Church seeing transgender people not only as people (in a Church where some say they don't really exist) but as Catholics" said Fr James Martin on X (Twitter). He is a prominent Jesuit priest and supporter of LGBT rights in the Church.

Sources

• Reuters
• OSV News - via UCANews.com
• NBC News
• La Croix International

"And a woman, whose heart was divided between spirit and body, came before him," the fake passage reads. "In quiet despair, she asked, 'Lord, I come to you estranged, for my spirit and body are not one. How shall I hope to enter the kingdom of God?'"

"Jesus looked upon her with kindness, replying, 'my child, blessed are those who strive for unity within themselves, for they shall know the deepest truths of my Father's creation,'" the passage continued. "Be not afraid, for in the kingdom of God, there is no man nor woman, as all are one in spirit. The gates of my Father's kingdom will open for those who love and are loved, for God looks not upon the body, but the heart."

Read More

Gender is something that belongs to humans; God is beyond gender.

But because we believe in a personal God, and people are gendered, some of us can't help but envision God as having a gender.

Throughout Christian tradition, believers have leaned heavily toward depicting God as male.

Lord (Ps. 6:2; 23:1), King (Ps. 10:16; 24:8), and Father (Matt. 6:9; Luke 11:2) are among the most dominant images.

However, while there is biblical support for these images, many biblical texts also envision God as female. For example:

• Moses warns the Israelites not to forget "the God who gave you birth" (Deut. 32:18).
• When Israel is being rebirthed after the Babylonian exile, the prophet Isaiah speaks of God as being like "a woman in labour" bringing the Israelites to new life (Isa. 42:14).
• Further, Isaiah speaks of God's tenderness toward Israel like that of a mother consoling her child (Isa. 49:15; 66:13).
• Both Isaiah and the psalmist portray God as a midwife, helping the renewed Israel come forth from the womb (Isa. 66:9; Ps. 22:10-11).
• In several gospel parables, Jesus speaks of God and himself as being like a woman who hides yeast in bread dough (Luke 13:20-21), who searches for a lost coin (Luke 15:8-10), or who confronts an unjust judge and demands justice (Luke 18:1-8).

All the language we use to speak of God is figurative and can be metaphorical, analogical, or symbolic.

A metaphor compares two things that are similar yet different, by making a statement of equivalence: for example, "God is a rock" (Ps. 18:2).

God is perhaps solid and dependable like a rock, but God is not literally a rock.

Analogy is a comparison of two distinct things, with a focus on how they are alike. An example is a statement such as "God is good."

God is not the same thing as goodness, but we can understand God through understanding goodness. Symbol (from the Greek synballo, "to throw together") is something that stands for something else.

It matters what metaphors, analogies, and symbols we use for God and God's gender. Continue reading

Chloe Cole is a self-described "former trans kid" who de-transitioned after undergoing years of puberty blockers and an irreversible double mastectomy at the age of 15.

Cole is now travelling across the country to share her story and raise the alarm about gender transition procedures on children, a growing trend she calls "child abuse" and "medical experimentation."

"I'm planning to keep doing this until it stops," Cole told CNA Wednesday in an interview.

Cole, who grew up in Northern California, was just 11 years old when she was first exposed to gender ideology through online platforms.

"I kind of lacked female role models growing up," Cole told CNA, citing body image issues, early exposure to LGBTQ content, and unmonitored internet access as factors that propelled her struggle with gender dysphoria.

Cole was also diagnosed with autism and ADHD at age 7, which she says are "common comorbidities with gender dysphoria."

The link between autism and gender dysphoria has been scientifically studied and reported on by independent journalist Abigail Shrier, suggesting that children on the spectrum are particularly vulnerable to the pull of transgenderism.

A ‘false' choice

It didn't take long before medical professionals fast-tracked Cole into medically transitioning from a girl into a boy, a trend she says has exploded among children.

Cole said Wednesday that her parents "were scared and desperate for answers" when she first told them she was a boy and that their decision to sign off on transitioning her was "forced under extreme duress."

"The gender clinic presented my parents with the classic false dichotomy: Would you rather have a dead daughter or a living son?" Cole said.

Cole was put on puberty blockers and testosterone at just 13 years old, which caused a ripple of negative side effects, including unbearable hot flashes and what she describes as an endless feeling of boredom.

"For me, it was pretty bad, like they were making my whole body really itchy. On certain days I couldn't even wear sweaters or long pants in cold weather," Cole told CNA.

"I felt like there was this feeling of boredom that just wouldn't go away. I would just wake up waiting for the next best thing," she remembered.

Cole continues to experience joint pain from weakened bone density — a known side effect of puberty blockers — as well as certain allergies and ongoing urinary tract infection symptoms.

But all of this pales in comparison to the double mastectomy Cole underwent at age 15, which permanently removed both of her breasts.

"The name of the operation I went under was ‘double mastectomy with nipple grafts,' meaning they make cuts under the breast and take out the tissue underneath," she explained.

Cole added that the surgeons also surgically removed her nipples and grafted them back on in a "more masculine position" — creating serious side effects that she will deal with for the rest of her life.

"They severed the nerve endings. The sensation is never the same again, and there are permanent changes in pigmentation — it might not ever look the same," she explained.

Cole says she was given the impression from doctors that her grafts would mostly be healed by a year and a half after the surgery, but she still has complications more than two years later.

"The top layer of skin is not really healing over. It emits this fluid constantly, so I have to wear non-adhesive bandages over them all the time."

But what Cole most regrets is how "the beauty of motherhood" was stripped from her at an age when she wasn't able to fully comprehend the loss.

"At 15, I wasn't really thinking. I was a kid, just trying to fit in — not thinking about the possibility of becoming a parent." Continue reading

Long gone are the days when the statue of David displayed in Melbourne's Myers emporium had to be covered with a fig leaf and where nudity in the musical Hair caused moral outrage.

The cultural revolution of the late 60s and early 70s heralded a sexual revolution epitomised by the slogan ‘make love, not war'. This was a time when the birth control pill radically changed sexual mores, the gay/lesbian pride movement became active and the traditional family was seen as inflexible and outdated.

We now live in a world where pornography of every description is available in a virtual world 24/7, where marriage no longer involves a man and a woman, where children are taught boys can be girls and girls can be boys and where explicit sex scenes on TV and in movies is commonplace.

"To overthrow capitalism and what he describes as "repressive morality" Reich, instead of focusing on the class struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, champions complete sexual empowerment and freedom."

While many see this age of sexual liberation and empowerment as beneficial and beyond reproach, the Italian philosopher and cultural critic Augusto Del Noce, in his essay ‘The Ascendance of Eroticism' published in 1970, describes what he terms eroticism as a dangerous and malignant disease infecting Western societies.

Del Noce traces today's sexual revolution to the publication in 1930 of Wilhelm Reich's The Sexual Revolution.

To overthrow capitalism and what he describes as "repressive morality" Reich, instead of focusing on the class struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, champions complete sexual empowerment and freedom.

Central to Reich's thesis, Del Noce writes, is the belief "the core element of life will be sexual happiness" and "the achievement of sexual happiness would lead to the extinction of the authoritarian spirit and to a form of internationalism free from all compromises".

Reich argues religious teachings about the sanctity of marriage and the importance of monogamy reinforce capitalist domination.

As a result, Del Noce warns "the idea of indissoluble marriage and other ideas related to it (modesty, purity, continence)" no longer apply. Proving how prescient he was, Del Noce also notes, given the impact of Reich's book and the sexual revolution of the 60s and 70s,

"It is clear that what today is called the left fights less and less in terms of class warfare, and more and more in terms of ‘warfare against repression'".

The lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, intersex, queer, plus rainbow alliance (LGBTIQ+) best illustrates how successful the neo-Marxist inspired cultural-left has been in its fight against what is condemned as the repressive morality associated with Western civilisation and Christianity.

"The Canadian gender activist Cristian Scarlett Milloy argues ‘With infant gender assignment, in a single moment your baby's life is instantly and brutally reduced from such infinite potentials down to one concrete set of expectations and stereotypes …'"

The so-called Safe Schools gender fluidity program, funded by Liberal and Labor governments, tells students there is nothing preferable or beneficial about the love between a woman and a man. Such a relationship is condemned as hetero-normative and guilty of cis-genderism.

While the overwhelming majority of babies are either female or male with XX or XY chromosomes respectively, hospitals are now ‘assigning' a gender on the basis that babies must not be stigmatised by labelling them as boys or girls.

The Canadian gender activist Cristian Scarlett Milloy argues "With infant gender assignment, in a single moment your baby's life is instantly and brutally reduced from such infinite potentials down to one concrete set of expectations and stereotypes, and any behavioural deviation from that will be severely punished …"

In Tasmania, it is now possible to change one's birth certificate to identify as non-binary, indeterminate or other (including but not restricted to transgender, transsexual, bigender or agender).

In a recent article in The Age newspaper, the journalist Madonna King praises schools and students for championing LGBTIQ+ rights.

Examples include wearing non-binary ‘they' badges, setting up a non-binary ‘safe space', not telling parents their child wants to transition and girls wearing pants so as not to be seen as female.

A second article in the same paper by Farrah Tomazin praises a boy who transitions to being a girl and his role in changing the law to make it easier for teenagers to take puberty blockers. The author also praises the Victorian government for banning gay conversion therapy.

"As argued by Del Noce, radical, neo-Marxist inspired eroticism and gender ideology represents an attempt to destroy human sexuality and the family."

Not surprisingly, in the UK, America and Australia programs like Safe Schools and the campaign to normalise LGBTIQ+ ideology, there has been an upsurge in gender dysphoria, especially among girls, with clinics recording ever-increasing numbers.

As argued by Del Noce, radical, neo-Marxist inspired eroticism and gender ideology represent an attempt to destroy human sexuality and the family. Ignored, as argued by Pope Francis, is radical gender ideology, especially transgenderism, which is against the natural order and God's plan.

Francis argues: "when the freedom to be creative becomes the freedom to create oneself, then necessarily the Maker himself is denied and ultimately man too is stripped of his dignity as a creature of God".

• Dr Kevin Donnelly is a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Catholic University and the author of The Culture of Freedom.
• First published in Catholic Weekly. Republished with permission

I can see the local Catholic church from my window, but I haven't been inside it since the brief window, mid-pandemic, of supposed normality in July 2021. From my small town in Oregon, I go to Mass first in Chicago and then in Los Angeles.

Perhaps I should say that I go to services in Chicago and Los Angeles, as no one has yet figured out how to go to Communion via Zoom.

I do miss receiving the Eucharist.

In years past, when I worked for a Catholic parish, I often went to daily Mass.

Back then, I couldn't have imagined going without the Body of Christ for months or years, as is the burden of some communities in remote areas of the world.

I always felt blessed to have the opportunity to go to Mass whenever I wanted.

But I was a different person back then.

I think of my Catholicism now as a fragile little bird that I keep sheltered in the nest of my heart.

My life changed when one of my children came out of the closet.

As the parent of a transgender person, I felt called to advocate publicly for civil rights and equal treatment for the L.G.B.T. community, which meant that I had to leave my paid position at the parish.

The sexual abuse scandal was also swirling around the Catholic Church at the time.

My husband, a cradle Catholic, opted out and became an Episcopalian.

The safe edifice of my Catholic family had crumbled.

Long story short: I fell from being a pillar of parish programs to sitting alone in a back pew.

I think of my Catholicism now as a fragile little bird that I keep sheltered in the nest of my heart.

I'm still here. Even as my trans child felt abandoned and reviled by the faith into which they were baptized, even as my husband was no longer at my side during Mass, I stayed.

I was a Catholic, by God.

I was not going to be driven out.

Rather than throwing up my hands and surrendering, I held on by a fingernail.

The personal criticism, the institutional blindness, the wear and tear of alienation, even the lurking guilt I had for not leaving the church to support my child would not win.

But there were many times I wanted to get up and make a dramatic exit during a homily that, for example, compared civil marriage equality to letting monkeys marry.

I would tell myself that one priest's unkindness did not represent Jesus.

In this age of "traditionalist" rhetoric spouted by some American Catholics in the public square—trashing the pope and pretty much ignoring Catholic social justice teaching—I knew that the call of Jesus was not what I was hearing from those sources.

But Lord, they were loud.

Even as my trans child felt abandoned and reviled by the faith into which they were baptized, even as my husband was no longer at my side during Mass, I stayed.

Then came the pandemic of 2020, when going to Mass in person was not a safe option; in some places it was not an option at all.

Catholics looked for Masses in parking lots or on TV.

Searching the internet brought me to two Zoom Masses far from my home.

One was streamed from a large and vibrant parish in a city. Another was broadcast by a friend, a retired priest who said Mass at his own kitchen table.

I felt protected from the virus by using these opportunities, and my little bird of faith felt protected, too, by the love and compassion that informed the homilies given by the priests and deacons at these Masses.

It's not that I felt safe from controversy, or placated in my own bubble of belief, because these homilies were thought-provoking and challenging.

I wasn't only hearing what I wanted to hear.

But I felt engaged.

I also felt focused.

Sitting alone at my table, nothing distracted me from the Scripture readings or the prayers of intercession.

Seeing the digital grid of fellow Catholics—living, breathing worshippers who were similarly isolated—somehow gave me a stronger sense of communion than I had felt in a church building in a long time.

Several of us sometimes stayed online after Mass ended to discuss the homily.

I was finally grasping the meaning of spiritual communion.

I didn't expect it to be enough, but it was.

To be honest, I'd expected to yearn for the Eucharist with a profound physical hunger.

After all, I'd thought it was exclusively the Eucharist that had kept me Catholic throughout the years of personal doubt and wavering.

When that sense of longing didn't come, it surprised me.

The Prayer of Spiritual Communion, however, has moved me deeply.

I've prayed it intensely: Never permit me to be separated from you.

Although I'm alone, I've felt more connected to God and to the Church than I have in years.

I'm afraid that some misguided homily is going to be the straw that breaks me, the last straw that finally makes me leave this church that I belong to, that I say I love.

Now my local parish offers three weekend Masses.

Now I am vaccinated.

Now the mask mandates are being relaxed as the Covid-19 infection numbers and hospitalizations recede.

We can gather.

From my window, I can hear the bells tolling the start of each Mass.

Every week I plan to go.

Every Sunday I do not go.

Why?

I should be running back to in-person Mass so I can embrace the real presence of the Eucharist.

Here is why: I'm afraid, but not of the virus.

Frankly, I'm afraid of what I will see, of what I will hear when I get there and step inside. Continue reading

• Valerie Schultz is a freelance writer, a columnist for The Bakersfield Californian and the author of Overdue: A Dewey Decimal System of Grace. She and her husband Randy have four children and two grandchildren.

Even the US Conference of Catholic Bishops rejects the concept of gender transition.

Trans people also face rebukes from fellow Catholics, which drives them away.

One transgender woman says this results in the church losing not just the transgender person but "parents, children and groups of friends who say this is not the church we want to belong to".

During the past two years, at least six catholic dioceses have issued guidelines discriminating against trans people.

One diocese bars church personnel from using trans people's preferred pronouns reflecting their gender identity.

Objecting to trans-supportive "gender theory," the diocese stipulates "all interactions and policies, parishes, organisations and institutions are to recognise only a person's biological sex". And, as well, people must use toilets and adhere to dress codes associated with their birth gender.

In another diocese, pastors have been told to deny trans, gay and non-binary Catholics the sacraments "unless the person has repented".

"Many of our bishops are anti-science. They are cold and cruel" says a nun who has ministered to trans people. "You can't respect people and deny their existence at the same time".

Occasionally though, a parish shows an entirely different, more welcoming look.

At one parish's annual Pride Mass in support of LGBTQ people, the priest invited a transgender woman to deliver part of the homily.

"We are not disordered, confused or a fad" she said. "We are not trying to defy God, nor to play God".

"By staying visible, not only outside these walls but inside our churches, we change hearts and minds one person at a time".

Another parish observes the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance which commemorates people killed due to anti-trans violence.

"We must always stand up against hatred in all its forms and not allow others' fears (or phobias) to be a reason for hatred" the priest wrote in the parish bulletin.

"Rather, we must continue to learn more about the experience of others and to become more tolerant and accepting of one another".

Grassroots activism on behalf of greater inclusivity will accelerate as more parishes add LGBTQ ministries, one trans woman hopes.

For young trans Catholics, the conflicting approaches of individual churches and clergy can challenge them and their parents.

"A place that had once been a safe haven for me had become a place of danger" one said.

"But since coming out my spirituality has grown. I feel whole for the first time in my life".

His mother, a convert, now has mixed feelings, and a nun who ministered to transgender people for decades says friction over transgender inclusion is likely to intensify.

"There has never been a time in the American church when the catholic hierarchy has had less moral credibility," she said.

"The people in the pews are taking responsibility for doing their own homework and recognising that we are all God's people".

Source

• HuffPost
• Image: America Magazine

The mandate does not provide exemptions for doctors from performing gender-transitioning procedures after a mental health professional's referral. It overrules their opposition to the procedures for medical or conscience reasons.

"Biological identity must remain the basis for treating patients," the association's president Dr. Michael Parker says. The "transgender mandate" interprets unlawful sex discrimination in health care to include discrimination on the basis of self-determined gender identity, he explains.

Parker is concerned that the mandate not only risks patient health and safety, but also mandates that health care providers give up their fundamental right to conscience. "This sets a dangerous precedent with incalculable implications for the ethical practice of medicine," he says.

The Catholic Medical Association is a national network of Catholic doctors and health care workers. Together with the American College of Pediatricians, a national network of pediatrician, representatives say they represent 3,000 doctors and health care workers.

"Forcing doctors to prescribe transition hormones for 13-year-olds or perform life altering surgeries on adolescents is unlawful, unethical, and dangerous," says a Bangert, senior counsel for the two groups.

The lawsuit says that under the mandate, "doctors now face an untenable choice: either act against their medical judgment and deeply held convictions by performing controversial and often medically dangerous gender-transition interventions, or succumb to huge financial penalties, lose participation in Medicaid and other federal funding, and, as a practical matter, lose the ability to practice medicine in virtually any setting."

In US law, sex discrimination in health care is illegal.

Timeline of changes to the mandate

2016: The Obama administration first issued the mandate when it interpreted the health care law's prohibition on sex discrimination to include discrimination against gender identity.

The administration required doctors to provide gender-transitioning procedures upon referral. There were no exemptions for doctors' religious or medical objections.

Catholic health care institutions and several states sued. They won an injunction from the mandate in federal court in 2016.

2020: The Trump administration allowed doctors to opt out of the mandate. It re-interpreted the Affordable Care Act's prohibition on sex discrimination.

Two federal courts halted parts of that rule from going into effect.

2021: The Biden administration issued its notice reinstating the mandate.

A federal district court judge granted permanent relief from the mandate for the Catholic hospital network Franciscan Alliance and the Christian Medical and Dental Associations.

The lawsuit seeks a permanent nationwide injunction from the mandate for other health care groups as well.

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• Image: YouTube

A transgender Catholic, James Pignatella is one of the speakers in the three-part Zoom series which began last month. The next sessions are on 18 November and 15 December.

The series aims to educate Catholic priests on how to better serve their transgender parishioners.

The sessions are hosted by Stan Zerkowski, director of LGBT ministry for the Diocese of Lexington. He says these are geared toward priests to create a safe space for participants to ask questions and learn from speakers.

Over 30 priests are expected to attend.

"I'm really hoping that I'll … give them a face and a person to go with that identity," Pignatella says.

"I think that one of the bigger problems that exists is there's a lot of conversation about trans people, but not very many people know [anyone who is trans]."

He thinks Church leadership is slowly warming to LGBTQ rights.

Other speakers are Sr. Luisa Derouen, a member of the Dominican Sisters of Peace and Deacon Ray Dever of the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Derouen hopes to help debunk beliefs about trans people Catholic leaders often spread. These include the idea that one's gender is fixed at birth or that transgender identity is an ideology or a mental illness.

She wants to help priests understand how important their words are to trans Catholics.

"One sentence that is negative and hurtful can move somebody a step closer to suicide.

"One positive sentence, one sentence that is affirming, can pull them back from the edge of suicide. It's that critical."

Over half of transgender youth and young adults have considered suicide, an LGBTQ suicide prevention organisation found.

Research suggests much of this is due to societal discrimination and family rejection.

Derouen, who has provided spiritual guidance to hundreds of trans peoples, says many want affirmation from a person of faith.

Some wondered if they would go to hell, if God could still love them and if they could live a faithful Catholic life as a trans person.

"The truth never leads us away from God — that's my mantra," Derouen says.

"So if you are living in the truth of who you are — and only you and God know that … That's what holiness looks like."

She says discerning their gender identity and transitioning can be a deeply spiritual experience. It's about asking the most fundamental question of all: "Who am I?"

"What I have witnessed over and over again, hundreds of times, is that when people claim their truth, as transgender, their relationship with God is much closer. We can only go to God as we are."

Most priests don't intend to harm trans people, Derouen says. She wants to be a resource for priests and Catholics who want to learn to support their trans community members.

Source

• National Catholic Reporter
• Image:Bloomberg
  

Discalced Carmelite nun Mónica Astorga Cremona wrote to Pope Francis telling him about the inauguration of a new housing complex she has established to help transgender women living in poverty.

The new 12-studio apartment complex in Neuquén, Argentina, is part of a permanent housing solution for about twelve people between the ages of 40-70.

The pope, who is an old friend of Cremona, replied to her letter saying "God who did not go to the seminary or study theology will repay you abundantly" for the work you have done.

He told her he is praying for her and the transgender women she is assisting, adding, "Don't forget to pray for me. May Jesus bless you and the Holy Virgin guide you."

"This must serve as a kickoff, because if a nun could make her dream a reality, then how much more can the government do!" Cremona says.

The new complex was built on land donated to Astorga Cremona's monastery by the district. It was funded by the local provincial government and built by the Provincial Institute of Housing and Urban Development, costing around 27.6 million pesos to build.

It was then immediately handed over to the Order of Discalced Carmelites for administration.

Many of the people who will live at the complex have been prostitutes, selling themselves to get by.

However, with quarantines imposed due to the coronavirus ( COVID-19) pandemic, those who were prostitutes have been unable to work.

As part of the inauguration ceremony, Cremona accompanied each new tenant to their doorstep.

"They couldn't even hold the key because of the crying," she said.

The new condos are not "a refuge nor a trans home," Cemona says.

They are houses given as if they were a loan, "as if it were a rent, but without paying anything and without installments."

So long as the tenants comply with the regulations, which are the same as any rental, they are able to stay for life.

If after three warnings, however, a tenant continues to break the rules, they have to leave.

Four of the new tenants have moved in with their partners.

However Cremona said if they die, their partners will be asked to leave, as the complex is specifically for transgender people.

Cremona, who serves as the superior of her community, lives in the cloistered monastery of Santa Cruz and San José de Neuquén.

For the past 14 years she has worked with transgender women, encouraging them to stop addiction and helping them to get out of prostitution by teaching them other trades.

Source

• Crux Now
• Image: The Jesuit Post

.

"That's not the case," says sports scientist Ross Tucker. "I wish that society would be accepting."

The report was leaked a couple of weeks ago by The Guardian, which suggested World Rugby was considering changing its policy around male-to-female transgender players, potentially banning them from playing women's rugby.

The policy change was based on the scientific report co-written by Tucker, which said, even after testosterone treatment, trans athletes retained a significant performance advantage over biological women - manifesting in "at least a 20-30 percent greater risk of injury when a female player is tackled by someone who has gone through male puberty".

The proposed ban was predictably polarising: NZ Rugby immediately came out and said while it would seek feedback on the proposal, it wasn't keen on a ban.

Wellington rugby player Alice Soper told RNZ's Morning Report she would have no problem lining up against women who underwent male puberty, and described the proposal as "TERF-y".

On today's episode of The Detail, Emile Donovan speaks to Tucker about how he came to these conclusions, the physiological differences between men and women, and the extraordinary situation sports administrators find themselves in.

This is not a discussion about whether trans women should be able to play sport. That isn't a question; sport is a human right.

This is about an intersection of competing values: of inclusion, safety, and fairness, in a situation where there isn't a clear way to balance all three.

A fundamental question in this discussion is why sport is split along the lines of biological sex.

"[We split sport] within a sometimes arbitrary range, because if we didn't do that, the smallest boxer would never win," says Tucker. "The athlete with the most severe cerebral palsy would never have the opportunity to win that medal ... and, similarly, those who are female and therefore physiologically different in their biology would have zero chance of winning those medals if they had to compete in an open category against males.

"The scientific, biological differences between men and women are so large, they would render women irrelevant in elite-level sport. Therefore, we protect a category of people who do not have the advantage in order for their sport to have the same meaning.

"Now, we can have a Usain Bolt, who won the 100m gold medal, and we can give the same medal - of equal value - to Shelly-Anne Fraser-Price, because they've both expressed the attributes that we recognise as making them the world's best sprinter."

How big is that physical discrepancy? Pretty big, says Ross Tucker. Continue reading