Gender Legislation and Catholic Social Teaching

This episode is about the fairly remarkable amount of recent legislative activity related to transgenderism, and what Catholic Social Teaching has to say about this topic.

Here are references and additional resources.

1. Supreme Court temporarily blocks California policy against parental notification of gender identity
2. Map of US showing which states shield and which states ban gender-modifying medical procedures for young people,  Click on the “Shield Laws and Youth Care Bans” tab.  Note: posted by a pro-transgender group that takes positions are not in harmony with Catholic teaching
3. List of 126 bills passed in 2025, in 29 states. Note: posted by a pro-transgender group that takes positions that are not in harmony with Catholic teaching
4. HHS Announces Rule to Bar Hospitals from Performing “Sex-Rejecting Procedures” on Children — December 18, 2025
5. Declaration “Dignitas Infinita,” on Human Dignity - August 4, 2024 - See #55-59 Gender Theory and #60 Sex Change
6. Cardinal provides further clarification of points made in “Dignitas Infinita.”
7. US bishops overwhelmingly back ban on ‘gender interventions’ by Catholic health care - November 12, 2025
8. Catholic Medical Association statement - 2023
9. Two medical groups back limits on gender transition procedures for minors - February 6, 2026
10. Four things Catholics need to know about transgender people - Article by a Catholic nun advocating for greater acceptance of transgenderism by the Church
11. Catholic Tradition Has Always Included Trans People Like Me - Article by a transgender Catholic advocating for greater acceptance of transgenderism by the Church
12. Pastoral statement on accompanying those suffering gender dysphoria by Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City
13. Podcast website with full transcripts for this episode and all other episodes

Transcript

Welcome to “Headline News and Catholic Social Teaching,” where we take a brief look at stories in the news, not from a left or right political perspective, but through the lens of Catholic Social Teaching.  I’m your host, Tom Mulhern, and my hope, as always, is that this podcast will help us grow in our love of God and love of our neighbors. 

This episode is about the fairly remarkable amount of recent legislative activity related to transgenderism, and what Catholic Social Teaching has to say about this topic.

The news item that first drew my attention was a recent Supreme Court ruling that has temporarily blocked a California public schools policy while a lawsuit against that policy moves its way through the appeal process.  The policy in question largely prohibits public school teachers in California from notifying parents if their child changes his or her self-identified sexual orientation or gender identity while at school.

A group of educators and parents have sued California over the policy in federal court, arguing it violates their religious beliefs.

So, this is an interesting case to say the least, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg.  When I looked for other recent news stories related to gender identity and transgenderism, particularly in young people, I was surprised by all of the legislative activity.  Most but certainly not all of this activity is happening at the state level.

And states are moving in opposite directions, depending on which political party is in charge.  Many of the new laws are focused on gender-related medical and surgical interventions.  These are medical procedures aimed at altering a person’s body or their physical development to support a self-desired change in gender identity.  This includes things like medicines to affect hormones and a wide variety of surgical procedures focusing on the chest, genital and facial areas of the body.  You’ll be glad to know that I’m not going to get more specific than that.

26 states considered more “conservative” on transgender issues have taken recent steps to restrict or ban such medical interventions for young people.  17 other states, considered more “progressive,” have taken actions to try to shield or protect such interventions so that they continue to be available to young people who want to try to change from one gender to the other.  In the notes there’s a link to a map showing which states are banning and which states are shielding.

Transgender-related legislative activity at the state level has not been restricted to medical and surgical procedures for young people.  There has also been a flurry of legislation related to participation in sports, access to public bathrooms, use of pronouns, gender reported on identification documents and more.  There is a lot happening, a lot more than I can begin to address in a 15 minute podcast episode.

On the federal level, the Department of Health and Human Services recently released a notice of proposed rulemaking to bar hospitals from performing what it described as “sex-rejecting procedures” on children under age 18 as a condition of participation in Medicare and Medicaid programs.  If and when this takes effect it would have an impact on all states.

So what kind of guidance does Catholic Teaching offer us on issues related to transgenderism?

Well, the starting point for all Catholic Teaching is God’s love.  God loves each of us more than we can possibly imagine, and God’s plan for each of us – including those with gender dysphoria – is true and lasting happiness.

Gender dysphoria is a diagnosis that refers to the psychological distress that results from a mismatch between one’s biological sex and one’s perception of gender identity.  Catholic teaching recognizes that gender dysphoria is real and that it can and does cause pain and suffering for those who experience it.  And because it is genuine suffering, those experiencing it deserve our compassion, understanding and support.

“Dignitas Infinita” on Human Dignity, which was issued by the Vatican on August 4, 2024, calls for respecting the dignity of everyone, whatever their self-determined gender identity, and denounces any form of aggression or violence toward people because of their gender identity.  At the same time, it goes on to state that human life in all its dimensions is a gift from God, and then makes the following statement that I want to quote: it says “Desiring a personal self-determination, as gender theory prescribes, apart from this fundamental truth that human life is a gift, amounts to a concession to the age-old temptation to make oneself God, entering into competition with the true God of love revealed to us in the Gospel.”

In other words, our sexuality is a gift from God, and we don’t have the right to try to alter it.  We are creatures, we’re not the Creator.

Dignitas Infinita also confirms that we humans are a unity of body and soul, and it rejects the dualistic idea that the real “me” is my mind (or my soul) and my body is something that the “real me” can manipulate and modify as I choose.

In mid-February 2025, at a conference in Germany, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, head of the Vatican office for the Doctrine of the Faith, made some interesting comments further clarifying Dignitas Infinita.

The document, he said, “does not exclude that there are cases outside the norm, such as severe dysphorias that can lead to an unbearable existence or even suicide,” which demand evaluation “with great care.”  He didn’t provide further details on this point, but it does seem to leave room for discussion of individual cases.

He went on to say that what the document really focuses on is the ideology that accompanies so many sex-change decisions, the assertion that the individual has the freedom and the right to do whatever he or she wants with their body.

Here in the United States, on November 12, 2025, the US Catholic Bishops voted to approve an updated version of their guiding document on Catholic health care, with substantial revisions that include explicit prohibitions against so-called “gender-affirming care.”  The updated guidelines prohibit Catholic health care providers from participating in surgical or chemical interventions that seek to change or simulate the sex characteristics of a patient’s body for those of the opposite sex.

And prior to the bishops updating these guidelines, the Catholic Medical Association in 2023 issued a statement entitled “The Ideology of Gender Harms Children,” which provides a strong critique of gender-related medical interventions in children.  There’s a link in the notes.

Instead of altering the physical body, the Catholic Medical Association statement asserts that gender dysphoria is a psychiatric disorder that should be treated by a mental health specialist with the cooperation of loving parents.  The statement specifically notes that Cognitive Based Therapy (or CBT) has been shown to be useful in treating other body dysphoria disorders associated with increased risk of death, such as anorexia nervosa, and would be of benefit to young people experiencing gender dysphoria.

Now, I want to pause here and point out that there are faithful Catholics who are advocating for the Church to be more willing to accept transgenderism, including medical and surgical changes to the body.  These Catholics, some of whom have gone through such interventions themselves, point out that many people report that these changes offer significant relief for their gender dysphoria and help them live in greater peace and happiness.

In the same vein, some Catholic proponents of transgenderism have attempted to articulate scriptural and theological support for the practices involved.

I’ll put a couple of links in the notes with more information about these perspectives, because I think we need to be respectful and engage in dialogue with fellow Catholics who are transgender or who work with people who are transgender.  TIme will tell whether their advocacy for change is an inspired development of Church teaching or a misguided corruption aimed at conforming the Church to this age, to borrow a phrase from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans (chapter 12 verse 2).  

For myself, I accept Church teaching on transgenderism as outlined in Dignitas Infinita, and I think it offers us a sound, faith-based framework for living in a complicated world.

But that doesn’t mean that transgender Catholics are to be treated as weird or second-class, because they’re not.  As someone who has interacted with transgender persons in my professional work and in our community, I can assure you they are just people.  And, they are welcomed into the life of the Church.  Transgender Catholics can be baptized, they can be godparents, and they can be witnesses at weddings, and that’s the way it should be, because the Catholic Faith is for everyone.  We are all sinners, almost all of us deviate from Church teaching in some ways at some times, and we all need God’s saving grace to help us get to heaven.

So I’d like to end this episode by encouraging all of us to pray for those who have gender dysphoria, that they may experience the healing that comes from Jesus Christ.  And let’s also pray for our parishes, that we may embrace the tension involved in accepting transgender persons with real love and compassion while staying true to the guidance offered us through the Church as the Body of Christ on earth.

Well, that’s about it for this episode of “Headline News and Catholic Social Teaching.”  If you found it worthwhile, I invite you to share it with others.  If you want to learn more about me or the podcast, I encourage you to listen to Episode 1 Introduction or visit the podcast website.  If you’d like to make a comment or send me a message or a question, there’s a link in the notes that will enable you to send a text message.

And I do hope that, in some small way, this episode might help us live our lives guided by the Holy Spirit through the teachings of the Church.  

Thank you for listening.