Catholic bishops in the U.S. voted Wednesday to formally prohibit gender transition treatments for transgender individuals at Catholic medical facilities.
The bishops, convened in a Baltimore hotel’s ballroom, gave overwhelming approval to revisions in their guidelines for the thousands of Catholic health care facilities and professionals nationwide, thereby formalizing the U.S. church’s years-long effort to address options for transgender treatments.
Individual bishops will have the power to implement the new guidelines as law within their respective dioceses.
According to the Catholic Health Association, more than one out of every seven patients in the United States are treated daily at Catholic hospitals. In certain regions, they represent the only available medical centers.
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The majority of Catholic health care facilities have refrained from offering gender transition treatments, including surgical, hormonal, and psychological therapies.
During the public discussion concerning the revised directives, Bishop Robert Barron of Minnesota’s Winona-Rochester diocese stated, “Regarding gender ideology, I believe it is crucial for the church to issue a definitive statement.”
The Catholic Health Association expressed its gratitude to the bishops for incorporating a large portion of its input into the updated directives.
The organization stated, “Catholic providers will continue to welcome individuals who seek medical care from us and identify as transgender. We will continue to treat these individuals with dignity and respect, consistent with Catholic social teaching and our moral obligation to serve all, particularly those who are marginalized.”
The new directives integrate prior documents from the Vatican last year and from the U.S. bishops the year before, both concerning gender identity.
The bishops stated in the 2023 doctrinal note, “Moral Limits to the Technological Manipulation of the Human Body,” that “Catholic health care services must not carry out interventions, whether chemical or surgical, that intend to transform the sexual characteristics of a human body into those of the opposite sex, nor participate in the development of such procedures.”
However, while some parishes and priests embrace transgender Catholics, others exhibit less acceptance.
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Michael Sennett, a transgender man active in his Massachusetts parish and a board member of New Ways Ministry, which advocates for LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Catholic Church, stated, “Catholic teaching affirms the inherent dignity of every human life, and for many trans individuals, gender-affirming care renders life sustainable.”
New Ways Ministry arranged a meeting with the late Pope Francis last year to discuss gender transition treatment.
According to the group’s executive director, Francis DeBernardo, many transgender Catholics he has spoken with feel that “the transition process was not merely a biological requirement, but a spiritual one,” adding: “If they were to live as authentic individuals in the way they believe God created them, then transition becomes a necessity.”
Also on Wednesday, while Catholic bishops in the U.S. deliberated on gender identity, leaders from various progressive religious denominations issued a statement supporting transgender individuals.
“During a period when our nation is subjecting their lives to escalating and severe threats, there exists a regrettable misconception that all people of faith do not affirm the full spectrum of gender – a significant number of us do. Instead, let it be known that our beloveds are created in the image of God – holy and whole,” the statement read, signed by 10 leaders, including those from the Unitarian Universalist Association, the Episcopal Church, the Union for Reform Judaism, and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
In addition to the Catholic bishops’ discussion on gender identity, they overwhelmingly endorsed a “special message” condemning the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Catholic leaders have voiced criticism of the president’s mass deportation agenda, as fear of immigration raids has diminished Mass attendance at some parishes.
Earlier in the year, the federal government reversed a directive from the Biden administration that instructed immigration agents not to conduct enforcement activities at sensitive locations like churches and hospitals.
The bishops’ statement on Wednesday reads, “We are concerned when we observe among our people a climate of apprehension and worry surrounding issues of profiling and immigration enforcement. We are saddened by the tenor of current debate and the demonization of immigrants. We are troubled by the conditions in detention centers and the lack of access to pastoral care.”
Several bishops also spoke out in support of the statement during the final afternoon discussion.
Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich even suggested more forceful language concerning mass deportation, and his fellow bishops concurred.
He stated, “That appears to be the primary issue confronting our people at present.”
The updated text now asserts that U.S. Catholic bishops “oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of individuals.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
