A US archbishop has issued pastoral guidance on how the Catholic Chuch can “walk with” people who identify as transgender.
Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City issued a 14-page pastoral letter on the issue of transgenderism and Catholic teaching and ministry, entitled “On the Unity of the Body and Soul: Accompanying Those Experiencing Gender Dysphoria.”
Coakley said his goal was “to provide pastoral guidance on how the Church, its ministers and the lay faithful can accompany – walk with – those who struggle with their gender identity, especially those who identify as transgendered.”
He added" “Following Pope Francis, I distinguish ‘between what pastoral care is for people who [identify as transgendered] and what is [trans]gender ideology’.”
“Persons who identify as transgendered are created by God, are loved by God, and we as faithful Christians are called to love each of them as our neighbor (Cf Mark 12:31). To love others means at its heart to will and desire their good.”
After reflecting dominant themes of Christian anthropology, such as the unity of body and soul and being created in the image of God, Coakley said, “man and woman most fully image God by their own self-giving love, a truth reflected in bodies that were designed for fruitful union”.
“Scripture confirms what we can know through reason alone – that there are two sexes and they are made for each other for the sake of life-giving love.”
But, for those who pastor to anyone who experiences a disconnect between their biological sex and their gender identity, Coakley urges compassion: “What tremendous suffering it must be to feel a lack of congruity between one’s sex and gender! We must tread lightly and with great compassion as we seek truth related to situations filled with pain.”
Coakley, who is secretary of the US bishops’ conference, warned, “We must avoid the extremes: to ignore the pain of the person and dogmatically assert that biological sex is the end of the conversation or to jettison the truth of the body in the false hope of relieving pain.”
The pastoral comes weeks after the doctrine committee of the US bishops’ conference issued a document barring Catholic hospitals from performing any sex change procedures or treatments such as puberty blockers.
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