ROME — Several dissident Catholic groups are reacting violently to the Vatican’s recent affirmation of its unconditional support for human life and the complementarity of men and women.
On Monday, the Vatican released the following report: declaration of the title dignitas infinitaIt reiterated the Catholic Church’s longstanding rejection of surrogacy, abortion and gender fluidity, angering progressive Catholic lobbying groups who had expected further changes in doctrine under Pope Francis. caused.
dignitas infinita “It has failed terribly in providing transgender and non-binary people with limited, rather than unlimited, human dignity.” said Mr. Francis DeBernardo, Executive director New Ways Ministries — “Catholic” LGBT advocacy group.
“In its approach to gender, this document relies on an outdated theology of gender essentialism, which holds that a person’s physical appearance is central evidence of their natural gender identity,” DeBernardo said. added.
Similarly, Jamie Manson, president of the pro-abortion group Catholics for Choice, I lamented Catholic doctrine on abortion, contraception and pregnancy “forces countless women, many of them the poorest, to give birth” and amounts to “violence against women,” it said.
“Once again, a group of all-male, celibate clergy are telling women and gender-expansive people that their lived experiences are neither real nor valid,” Manson said. Told. dignitas infinita.
“We do not agree, as this document suggests, that women who choose abortion or Catholics who support abortion rights are ‘evil,'” she argued.
Maddie Marlette, leader of DignityUSA, a Boston-based organization that promotes LGBT rights in the Catholic Church, said: was denied New Vatican document does not take into account the experiences of transgender people.
“As a trans woman, this document tells me I am playing God and abusing my moral freedom,” said Marlette, who is biologically male. “This is not the reality of my life. My journey to self-acceptance has been about recognizing my worth as a creation of God.”
“This document’s adherence to long-outdated beliefs about human anthropology is at odds with Pope Francis’ efforts to refocus the Catholic Church as a listening church,” said DignityUSA Executive Director. Marianne Duddy Burke said.
“The Pope’s personal encounters with religious transgender people also provide insight into how the Vatican can help them live full, rich and productive lives through gender-affirming care, and ultimately It is also puzzling that we do not take into account their stories of how they were able to experience ‘the unity of body and soul,’ she said.
A Vatican document on Monday said that “so-called surrogacy” disrespects human life by making the fetus in the mother’s womb “an object of trafficking.”
The document asserts that the dignity of the unborn child is the same as that of every human being, “having an essential character and valid from the moment of conception until natural death.”
The declaration states that despite efforts to “deny human dignity,” the unborn child is indeed “the most defenseless and innocent among us.”
Regarding gender, the document states that gender theory is “extremely dangerous because it negates differences in its claims to make all people equal.”
Gender theory is “intended to deny the greatest possible difference that can exist between living things, namely sex,” the declaration states. “This fundamental difference is not only the greatest possible difference, but also the most beautiful and most powerful.”
