Kudos to Bishop William Joensen.
You wouldn’t even think this should be news that a Catholic diocese is following Catholic Church teaching on gender. Sadly it is.
It takes some courage to stand up for Catholic teaching on gender right now but all Catholic dioceses must do this. If you not make it clear that you’re following Church teaching, the courts will tear you apart.
The Catholic Diocese of Des Moines has taken a significant stand against woke ideology and LGBT activism. As of Monday, the southwestern Iowa diocese — headed by 60-year-old Bishop William M. Joensen — will be enforcing new rules in 17 schools, four Catholic hospitals, and 80 parishes, thereby buttressing old common sense and enraging radical leftists.
New rules
The diocese’s “Gender Identity Guide and Policies” document sets out seven policies, all binding for diocesan parishes, schools, organizations, and other institutions of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Des Moines. They do not apply, however, to passersby, occasional vendors, and others who “may be on church-related premises who are not acting in an official capacity.”
The rules are as follows:
All documentation that requires the designation of a person’s sex must reflect the person’s real biological sex. So-called “preferred pronoun[s]” are not permitted, since the embrace of made-up pronouns, “while intended as an act of charity, instead promotes the disassociation of biological sex and ‘gender’ and thereby confuses or denies personal integrity.”
All persons must use the bathroom or locker room that matches their biological sex. However, buildings are permitted to have individual-use bathrooms.
“All persons are to ordinarily present themselves in a manner consistent with their God-given dignity.” This rule primarily pertains to uniform dress, whereby girls are to wear girls’ uniforms and boys are to wear boys’ uniforms in schools.
With the exception of co-ed sports, males are to play in male sports and females are to play in female sports. There is to be no crossover.
Single-sex schools, buildings, and other programs or institutions (e.g., women’s shelters) are restricted to members of the designated sex.
Kids aren’t allowed to take “puberty blockers” on parish or school property, and “medications for the purpose of gender reassignment” cannot be distributed or stored on site.
Counsel given to vulnerable persons afflicted with gender dysphoria will be in “accord with the directives and teachings of the Church.”
The Diocese of Des Moines made clear that those who disagree with these practices can leave: “We acknowledge their freedom of conscience to withdraw or absent themselves from situations they find objectionable. Concomitantly, they must likewise respect the Church’s mission to witness to truths accessible to reason and faith if they are to fully participate in our faith communities, including our Catholic schools.”
All Catholic dioceses should follow suit. All must follow suit. If we’re not teaching Catholicism what are we doing? Children today are bombarded by confusion. The Church should be their life raft.
