A new Vatican document outlines a strong stance against modern gender theory.
The Congregation for Catholic Education released a report Monday entitled “Male and Female He Created Them: Towards a Path of Dialogue on the Question of Gender Theory in Education.”
The document details the “educational crisis” created because of recent developments in gender theory and how Catholic educators should address it.
“This ideology leads to educational programmes and legislative enactments that promote a personal identity and emotional intimacy radically separated from the biological difference between male and female,” the lengthy document reads. “Consequently, human identity becomes the choice of the individual, one which can also change over time.”
The guide explains that modern education has a “tendency to cancel out the differences between men and women, presenting them instead as merely the product of historical and cultural conditioning” and ignore the “natural reciprocity that exists between men and women.” The report argues this has lead to the destabilization of the family.
Instead of following this model, the Catholic Church advocates for an education that considers the “totality of the person” and accounts for all elements, including biological ones.
The church outlines a three-step approach for educators to follow when handling sex education: listen, reason, propose.
The method calls for educators and members of the church to carefully listen to others and cultural events. They hope this will “lead to a shared set of rational elements in an argument,” where common ground can create a foundation for a Christian education rooted in faith.
Pope Francis has remarked that homosexuality is not a sin but rather a quality where the tendency to sin is heightened.
