In a declaration published April 8, 2024, the Roman Catholic Church’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith released Dignitas Infinita. It is a sweeping document, covering areas of human dignity from poverty to war, from the travail of migrants to human trafficking, to more.
Much in it is to be considered seriously and to be praised. My focus is on one area, which, because it is too narrowly focused, is not to be praised. In two fairly brief sections, the document takes up gender theory and sex change. Here is its presentation regarding gender theory:
My argument is not with what they have written regarding gender theory. Indeed, in their examination of what I would call secular, radical gender theory, I am in agreement. My concern is that they might be lumping into one group all persons declaring that they experience gender dysphoria.
In the next section, Sex Change, they only allow as valid those with obvious corruption to their genitals. Thus, everyone else experiencing conflict between their sex and gender, their body and mind, would be placed … where? They’ve provided no space for we Christians who reject secular, radical gender theory, yet have experienced the real, physical disorder that is gender dysphoria.
What this document contains regarding gender theory—and what it omits—is reminiscent of my church body’s (the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod) writings on the topic. Thus, with the set-up of secular, radical gender theory, the rest is bad news for all Christians suffering gender dysphoria.
Here is the report’s section on sex change:
I am in agreement with the first portion of this, until here: “At the same time, we are called to protect our humanity, and this means, in the first place, accepting it and respecting it as it was created.” Before examining this, I jump to the penultimate sentence: “This is not to exclude the possibility that a person with genital abnormalities that are already evident at birth or that develop later may choose to receive the assistance of healthcare professionals to resolve these abnormalities.”
Taking this sentence first, many of the thirty-one known disorders of sex development would not qualify as valid should a person decide to transition to living in the sex “opposite” of how they were identified at birth. Two examples suffice:
- Swyer syndrome. At birth, the baby appears female. Outward genitals correspond. At puberty, they do not menstruate. When examined, they are found to be lacking some internal female reproductive organs. When a chromosome test is performed, they are found to have male, XY sex chromosomes.
- Klinefelter syndrome. At birth, the baby appears fully male, with outward male genitals. As they go through puberty, they will have low or no sperm count, small testicles and penis, less body hair, and larger breasts for a male. A chromosome test finds the reason: they have an extra X sex chromosome. Thus, they are XXY, making them as chromosomally female as they are male.
Because neither of these disorders of sex development affect one’s outward genitals, should individuals with Swyer syndrome or Klinefelter syndrome not experience themselves as the female or male as they were identified at birth, and transition to live as the “opposite” sex, be accused of going against the created order of male and female? Would they be accused of sinning?
For them, there is no “opposite” sex. They possess attributes of both sexes. Though their outward genitals match how they were identified at birth, shall we not give them the benefit of how they experience themselves should their experience not match their outward genitals?
I return to the first sentence quoted: “At the same time, we are called to protect our humanity, and this means, in the first place, accepting it and respecting it as it was created.” As it was created. I again note that there are thirty-one known disorders of sex development, many, such as Swyer’s and Klinefelter’s, in which the genitals are not generally affected.
What of other conditions, which could include any number of them that have not yet been diagnosed? My own situation fits here. Before going on cross-sex hormones, the easy call would be that my gender dysphoria was “all in my head.” I either experienced a human failing, or a psychological trauma, or a spiritual failing, or a combination of these.
Though I had no testable, measurable disorder, when altering my sex hormones, so that my testosterone and estrogen now match those of a female my age, my gender dysphoria resolved. My hormone levels match those of a woman, yet I experience myself as fully male.
Why might this have occurred? I suspect my mother took diethylstilbesterol (DST), which is an artificial estrogen, when pregnant with me, because she was prone to miscarriage. DST now is a known endocrine-system disruptor. If my mother ingested this estrogen when pregnant with me, it would explain my hormone imbalance.
Even if she hadn’t taken DST, when pregnant with me my mother experienced extreme stress. With me arriving soon—my parents’ fourth child in five years—my folks had to decide to sign over to the state my oldest sibling, Jim, because he was profoundly handicapped. We now know that the stress hormone, cortisol, can adversely affect a fetus.
Thus, I, as a developing baby, could have been affected by one or two hormones. That I didn’t properly develop is seen in my lacking an Adam’s apple, lighter body hair, extremely late puberty, and that I’ve always been more emotional that a typical male. And, I’m left handed, which also could be a sign.
When my hormones were checked in 2013 (I was 56), and my levels were in line with those of a male my age, I felt female. Undergoing hormone therapy, I was accused of sinning because I was seen as rejecting that I was a male. Yet, had I not gone on hormones, I have no vision for my gender dysphoria doing anything else but continuing to torture me: I was suicidal, and thought I was going insane.
I didn’t transition because I fell for secular, radical gender theory. I remained true to the biblical faith I professed on the day of my ordination into the holy ministry of Jesus Christ.
There are many Christians just like me who don’t fall for the radical gender-theory nonsense that’s out there, who experience debilitating gender dysphoria, who are seeking relief from this vexing condition. They don’t want to sin; they long to be healthy. Should they transition, they are not rebelling against the Lord; they are seeking the same good health that all ill people strive to regain.
My Lutheran church body, Roman Catholicism, and many other Christian organizations need to be doing a far better job understanding gender dysphoria and what it means for those Christians who identify as transgender. So far, they are doing us, our families, and our congregations, a disservice.
They are doing far more harm than good.
Eilers Pizza 