Rome & the World: Spain’s bishops respond to ‘trans law’ with 10 points

Tuesday 11 October 2022
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1. Spanish bishops’ offer 10 responses concerning “trans law” 
2. In Ukraine, the Nuncio arms himself with prayer 
3. Refugees are not the “new normal,” says Holy See at UN
4. The economic revolution in the hands of young people
5. Prime Minister of Montenegro received by Pope Francis
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1Spanish bishops’ offer 10 responses concerning “trans law”

The Subcommittee for the Family and Defense of Life of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference published a note on Monday, detailing 10 responses to the “trans law” currently being discussed in Congress in Spain. The bill, officially called “for the Real and Effective Equality of Trans People and for the Guarantee of LGTBI Rights,” would guarantee certain protections and liberties for members of the LGBT community, such as for example being able to change one’s sex without providing medical reports or having started hormonal treatments, starting at the age of 16. For those between 12 and 14 years old, a judge’s approval will be necessary and for those between 14 and 16 their legal guardian’s permission will be required. The Bishop’s note, titled “in favor of the dignity and equality of all human life,” expresses concern over the law “since it radically questions the sexual identity of people in all areas of personal, family and social life, arbitrarily establishing and imposing a single anthropological conception.” The first and second point of the note underline the negative “consequences produced by the so-called queer theory or gender theory” and offer “a hand to shed light” on this “ideological legislation,” which they feel is imposed by the authorities. The third, fourth, and fifth points of the note warn about the “depathologization of transsexuality,” which leads to health staff having “to obey the wishes of patients,” based on subjective criteria, without being able to “determine the most advisable treatment.” These points emphasize also that many adolscents ask to change sex “without presenting a real gender dysphoria.” Point number 6 stresses that “hormonal and surgical sex reassignment cannot be said to solve the problems associated with dysphoria disorders.” The seventh and eighth points explain that the Christian community and its pastors should always welcome the faithful who may be affected by gender dysphoria, as they are “beloved children of the Father” and “have a right to be respected” and receive adequate medical treatment “with full respect for the truth and human dignity.” Point 9 strongly denounces “premature and irreversible treatments,” especially on minors, and point 10 emphasizes that “freedom of conscience and science must be respected for all professionals.”