Bishops Denounce Obama's Order On Transgenders

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http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/may/16/catholic-bishops-slam-obamas-disturbing-transgende/

Catholic bishops slam Obama’s ‘disturbing’ transgender bathroom order

By Bradford Richardson - The Washington Times - Monday, May 16, 2016
Two prominent Catholic bishops on Monday denounced President Obama’s order compelling public schools to allow restroom and locker room use on the basis of gender identity rather than sex.

The statement, issued by Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo and Archbishop George Lucas, who are both committee chairmen of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, cites church teaching reiterated by Pope Francis last month in his apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia.

“The guidance issued May 13 by the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education that treats ‘a student’s gender identity as the student’s sex’ is deeply disturbing,” the bishops said in a statement. “The guidance fails to address a number of important concerns and contradicts a basic understanding of human formation so well expressed by Pope Francis: that ‘the young need to be helped to accept their own body as it was created.’ “

The bishops said no student should ever be made to feel unsafe, but they contended the order curtails “more just and compassionate approaches” for students struggling with their gender identity.

“It unfortunately does not respect the ongoing political discussion at the state and local levels and in Congress, or the broader cultural discussion, about how to address these sensitive issues,” the bishops said. “Rather, the guidance short-circuits those discussions entirely.”

Mr. Obama’s order on Friday informed public schools of “emerging practices” about how to regulate bathrooms and locker rooms for transgender students. It advocates regulating bathrooms and locker rooms on the basis of gender identity, rather than sex, and installing privacy curtains in changing rooms when applicable.

 

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http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/us-bishops-pope-francis-brings-clarity-to-transgender-issues/
US Bishops: Pope Francis Brings Clarity to Transgender Issues (4838)
In light of Obama administration’s guidelines for schools, USCCB says: ‘We pray that the government makes room for more just and compassionate approaches and policies in this sensitive area, in order to serve the good of all students and parents, as well as the common good.’
by CNA/EWTN NEWS 05/17/2016 Comments (13)

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WASHINGTON — As an alternative to the “deeply disturbing” new federal guidance on transgender regulations for schools, the U.S. bishops pointed to the words of Pope Francis in offering a positive path to young people.
“The guidance fails to address a number of important concerns and contradicts a basic understanding of human formation so well expressed by Pope Francis: that ‘the young need to be helped to accept their own body as it was created,’” the bishops said in a May 16 statement, quoting the words of Pope Francis in his 2016 exhortation Amoris Laetitia.

“Children, youth and parents in these difficult situations deserve compassion, sensitivity and respect,” the bishops said. “All of these can be expressed without infringing on legitimate concerns about privacy and security on the part of the other young students and parents.”

They said the new federal guidance “does not even attempt to achieve this balance.” It ignores ongoing political and cultural discussion about how to address these sensitive issues and “short-circuits those discussions entirely.”

The U.S. bishops’ May 16 statement was authored by Bishop Richard Malone of Buffalo, N.Y., chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, and by Archbishop George Lucas of Omaha, Neb., who chairs the bishops’ Committee on Catholic Education.

The federal guidance from the Department of Justice and Department of Education was announced in a May 13 letter sent to all school districts. The guidance tells the leadership of every public school in the country to allow students who identify as transgender to use the facilities, including restrooms and locker rooms, that match their “gender identity.”

“A school may not require transgender students to use facilities inconsistent with their gender identity or to use individual-user facilities when other students are not required to do so,” the guidance said. It added that “a school must not treat a transgender student differently from the way it treats other students of the same gender identity.”

The guidance may also affect sex-segregated athletics.

Although the federal guidance does not have the force of law, it implicitly threatens schools that do not comply with lawsuits or a loss of federal aid, according to The New York Times.

The guidance cited Title IX civil-rights protections and said it intends to provide “a safe and nondiscriminatory environment for all students.” It claimed that federal anti-discrimination provisions exclude discrimination on the basis of a student’s “transgender status.”

Under the guidance, schools must treat a child according to a new gender identity as soon as the child’s parent or legal guardian asserts it. The guidance does not require a medical diagnosis to support the stated gender identity.

For the purpose of Title IX compliance, the federal departments said they “treat a student’s gender identity as the student’s sex.” The guidance said gender identity is “an individual’s internal sense of gender” that may differ from “the person’s sex assigned at birth.”

But the U.S. bishops cited Pope Francis’ caution that “biological sex and the socio-cultural role of sex (gender) can be distinguished but not separated.”

The federal guidance cited previous Title IX investigations that commit school staff and contractors to “use pronouns and names consistent with a transgender student’s gender identity.”

In addition, the guidance included a 25-page document of “emerging practices” in place around the country, such as privacy curtains or allowing students to change in bathroom stalls.

The U.S. bishops said the Catholic Church “consistently affirms the inherent dignity of each and every human person and advocates for the well-being of all people, particularly the most vulnerable.”

“Especially at a young age and in schools, it is important that our children understand the depth of God’s love for them and their intrinsic worth and beauty. Children should always be and feel safe and secure and know they are loved,” they continued.

The bishops added that they intend to study the guidance further.

“We pray that the government makes room for more just and compassionate approaches and policies in this sensitive area, in order to serve the good of all students and parents, as well as the common good.”