Vatican Says Gender Surgeries Defy God
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The Vatican on Monday declared “sex changes” and “gender theory” as threats to human dignity.
The Details: In a 20-page document titled “Infinite Dignity,” the leadership of the Catholic Church issued statements on a wide range of social issues, including abortion, surrogacy, poverty, and violence against women.
Key Quotes: “All attempts to obscure reference to the ineliminable sexual difference between man and woman are to be rejected,” the Vatican said. While the document did not appear to include a concrete definition of “gender theory,” it did state that the “ideology” was of debatable “scientific coherence” and “intends to deny the greatest possible difference that exists between living beings: sexual difference.” Beyond that, the Vatican said, gender theory’s desire for “personal self-determination” amounted to “a concession to the age-old temptation to make oneself God.” Furthermore, the Vatican said, “It follows that any sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception.”
For Context: While the Vatican decried the mistreatment of people on the basis of sexual orientation, echoing Pope Francis’ previous remarks on same-sex marriage, the new statements on gender identity may put the Catholic Church at odds with liberals and in line with traditionalist Catholics and U.S. conservatives.
How the Media Covered It: Some coverage from the left put “gender theory” in quotes, potentially distancing itself from language, like “transgenderism,” which many transgender people see as bigoted. The Daily Wire (Right bias), which has championed such language, said the Vatican opposed “radical gender theory.”
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Center
Pope Francis Says Transgender Surgery Defies GodThe Vatican has declared that transgender people who undergo surgery to change their bodies are violating God's plan for human life.
On Monday, the Vatican's doctrine office issued "Infinite Dignity," a 20-page declaration that has been in the works for five years. It was approved on March 25 by Pope Francis, who ordered its publication this week. The document states that God created man and woman as biologically different beings, and that people should not try to alter that plan or "make oneself God."
The report comes amid an increasingly bitter social...
From the Left
The Vatican Claims Gender-Affirming Surgeries Are a Threat to Human DignityThe Vatican issued a declaration on Monday claiming that gender-affirming surgeries risk threatening “the unique dignity” of people, further criticizing “gender theory” and rejecting attempts to obscure the “sexual difference between man and woman.”
The document from the Vatican’s doctrinal office titled “Dignitas Infinita”—Latin for “Infinite Dignity”—also reaffirmed the faith’s opposition to abortion and euthanasia. It comes as Pope Francis has faced an intense conservative backlash to recent liberalizing measures including allowing Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples.
In a brief section on “Sex Change,” the declaration cites Francis’ view that “creation is prior to us and must...
From the Right
Vatican Declares Transgender Surgeries, Surrogacy, Gender Theory Threats to Human DignityThe Vatican declared Monday that transgender surgeries, surrogacy, and gender theory are threats to human dignity, breaking with the progressive approach to social issues that Pope Francis has adopted in recent years.
In a 20-page document titled “Infinite Dignity,” the Vatican argues these practices are comparable to euthanasia or abortion as violations of God’s plan for human life. The declaration, five years in the making, was signed and approved by Pope Francis, who ordered it to be written and published.
In the document, the Vatican doctrine office formally rejects gender theory and...
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