The Catholic bishops of England and Wales have said they are “deeply concerned” that the “ideology of gender is creating confusion”.
In a press conference last Friday after their spring meeting, the bishops issued a statement saying the current “intense” public debate about gender highlights “not only the suffering and discomfort of some, but also raises profound questions about human nature, how we understand ourselves, relate to one another and our capacity for self-determination”.
The bishops went on: “We recognise that there are people who do not accept their biological sex … we seek to understand their experience more deeply and want to accompany them with compassion.”
They said that the idea that the individual is free to define himself or herself dominates discourse about gender. “Yet our human instinct is otherwise.”
Bishop John Sherrington (inset) told the press conference that the bishops wanted to make a statement of principle about the difference between male and female “in contrast to those who argue individuals are free to define themselves”. But he emphasised that there is a “place of welcome for everyone in the Catholic Church” and “we want to accompany” people who don’t accept their biological sex. He expressed the need “to understand more fully those who want to change their gender; part of our learning has been listening to people”.
The bishops have pledged to continue “reflecting” on the issue, expressing the hope “for a renewed appreciation of the fundamental importance of sexual difference in our culture and the accompaniment of those who experience conflict in their sense of self and God-given identity”.
In February, a group of priests and deacons, the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy, issued a statement on gender, saying: “Increasingly we meet individuals in our parishes unable to accept the sex in which they were born,” adding that it was “very important to state Catholic teaching in this area clearly and simply”.
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