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Vatican Statement on Transgenderism Comes at Opportune Time
Its moments like these when Pope Francis pastoral attitude and openness to secular liberals is beneficial.On Monday‚ the Vaticans Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith released a major doctrinal declaration on human dignity. Titled Dignitas infinita‚ the document addresses numerous violations of human dignity‚ including abortion‚ violence against women‚ human trafficking‚ war‚ poverty‚ euthanasia‚ sexual abuse‚ and the marginalization of people with disabilities.READ MORE: Vatican Scrambles to Clarify Same-Sex Blessings. Is It Enough?The document has captivated the attention of Western media due to its statements on issues that have emerged as major controversies in the 21st century: surrogacy‚ gender theory‚ and sex change. The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith‚ which is headed by Cardinal Vctor Manuel Tucho Fernndez‚ confronted these topics in accordance with the longstanding teachings of the Catholic Church and with a forcefulness that is unusual for Francis papacy.[A]ny sex-change intervention‚ as a rule‚ risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception‚ the document states. This declaration that so-called phalloplasties and vaginoplasties threaten a persons unique dignity drew consternation from self-identified transgender activists and Western media outlets.Mara Klein‚ who identifies as both nonbinary and transgender and was a delegate to the Synodal Way in Germany‚ told the Associated Press that the Vaticans statement on sex-change intervention was dangerously ignorant. She said‚ The suggestion that gender-affirming health care which has saved the lives of so many wonderful trans people and enabled them to live in harmony with their bodies‚ their communities and (God) might risk or diminish trans peoples dignity is not only hurtful but dangerously ignorant. Meanwhile‚ New Ways Ministry‚ a fringe American activist group that advocates for the Catholic Church to adopt progressive ideology‚ claimed that the document fails terribly by offering transgender and nonbinary people not infinite‚ but limited human dignity. In addition‚ the New York Times declared in the middle of its reporting on Dignitas infinita that the Vatican is engaged in a balancing act between respecting peoples dignity and proclaiming Catholic doctrine. The Vatican‚ it said‚ took pains in the document to strike a balance between protecting personal human dignity and clearly stating church teaching. This is a tightrope that Francis has tried to walk throughout his papacy‚ the newspaper claimed.Contrary to what these outlets have reported‚ the Vatican is not saying that undergoing a phalloplasty diminishes the infinite dignity that a person possess by means of his or her creation in the image and likeness of God. Rather‚ the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith is saying that a sex-change intervention creates undignified life conditions for a person and can diminish a persons moral dignity‚ which occurs when a person exercis[es] his or her freedom against the law of love revealed by the Gospel. This argument follows from Dignitas infinitas elucidation of a fourfold distinction of the concept of dignity. In this understanding‚ human beings possess indelible ontological dignity simply by their existence and creation by God that can never be annulled‚ but a persons existential dignity‚ moral dignity‚ and social dignity can be lessened. The document explains: Every individual possesses an inalienable and intrinsic dignity from the beginning of his or her existence as an irrevocable gift. However‚ the choice to express that dignity and manifest it to the full or to obscure it depends on each persons free and responsible decision. Moreover‚ while a persons ontological dignity cannot possibly be lessened‚ it is violated through so-called sex-change surgeries.The document explains the Churchs opposition to sex-change interventions by asserting that humans are inseparably composed of both body and soul and that the body serves as the living context in which the interiority of the soul unfolds and manifests itself. It then quotes Pope Francis earlier teaching that humans are to accept Gods creation as it was given to us. [C]reation‚ said Pope Francis‚ is prior to us and must be received as a gift. At the same time‚ we are called to protect our humanity‚ and this means‚ in the first place‚ accepting it and respecting it as it was created.*****In spite of the vocal opposition to the Vaticans denouncement of gender-affirmation surgeries‚ it is not being disregarded. This is partly because the Vatican under Francis has garnered greater attention from secular liberal elites due to the perception that the pope is seeking to liberalize the Church. For example‚ even the White House was asked to respond to the Vaticans document. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to give Joe Bidens assessment of the document but stated‚ [T]he president will continue to be an advocate for the rights‚ safety and dignity of the LGBTQ+ community‚ including transgender people here in the U.S. In addition‚ some outlets blasted out articles mischaracterizing the document as the Vaticans decision on whether to permit sex-change surgeries a confusion that partially stems from Pope Francis liberal image. For instance‚ the U.K.s Independentheadlined its article on the document: The Vatican issues declaration on sex change operations after five years of deliberation.Pope Francis outreach to people who identify as transgender helps to frame the document as an effort to safeguard human dignity rather than as an attack against them. Francis has made it a hallmark of his papacy to meet with gay and transgender Catholics‚ noted the New York Times in its coverage of the document‚ while CNNs Vatican correspondent said‚ We should also state that Pope Francis has shown a pastoral welcome to those who are transgender Catholics‚ to the LGBTQ community more broadly. Additionally‚ the popes strong opposition to laws that criminalize homosexuality as well as his advocacy for nondiscrimination against people who identify with the LGBTQ community‚ both of which are reiterated in Dignitas infinita‚ ease how the document is perceived by LGBTQ activists. For example‚ Father James Martins only response to the document was to state that he was grateful that the Vatican has reiterated its official condemnation of every kind of violence against LGBTQ people.In this way‚ Dignitas infinitarepresents Pope Francis effort to leverage his status as a liberalizing‚ pastoral pope to proclaim the Churchs message on crucial yet contentious topics. It is Pope Francis at his best. While some‚ such as the Washington Post‚ have interpreted Dignitas infinita as an olive branch to conservatives following a series of progressive declarations‚ notably including the statement on same-sex blessings‚ a more charitable and perhaps more accurate reading is that the pope independently wishes to denounce these controversial modern evils. The fact that Dignitas infinitahas been in development for five years‚ and Pope Francis has long forcefully condemned issues like gender ideology and surrogacy‚ serves to support this interpretation. Still‚ it is likely that the document was strategically timed for this moment when outreach to conservatives is critical.*****If this is the moment when Pope Francis is cashing in on his good will with secular liberals to denounce modern evils‚ he is not holding anything back.Pope Francis Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith says on surrogacy that every child has the right to have a fully human (and not artificially induced) origin and that surrogacy is a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child. On euthanasia‚ the Vatican department states that there are no circumstances under which human life would cease from being dignified and could‚ as a result‚ be put to an end. On abortion‚ it quotes Pope John Paul IIs declaration that procured abortion is the deliberate and direct killing‚ by whatever means it is carried out‚ of a human being. On gender theory‚ the document says that it intends to deny the greatest possible difference that exists between living beings: sexual difference‚ which it describes as not only the greatest imaginable difference but also the most beautiful and most powerful.At a time when surrogacy is increasing rapidly‚ the legalization of euthanasia is proliferating‚ abortion is increasingly accepted around the world‚ and radical gender ideology is sweeping cultures‚ a strong and definitive disavowal by the Vatican was sorely needed. Credit goes to Pope Francis for bringing it about.The post Vatican Statement on Transgenderism Comes at Opportune Time appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.
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