COMMENTARY: Church teaching on human nature is timeless and universal. But, Catholics can disagree among themselves on many public policies.
Jennifer Roback Morse February 3, 2025, at National Catholic Register
Based on vast human experience and centuries of reflection on Divine Revelation, the Catholic Church has a particular contribution to make to sound public policy and the common good.
However, to make the best use of these incredible gifts, we need to be discerning about their best application. Some public-policy questions have multiple answers that are broadly consistent with the Church’s teaching. Other questions really have only one right answer.
Bishop Robert Barron’s outstanding response to the executive order on gender ideology offers a good opportunity to reflect on these distinctions.
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump issued “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” This executive order states clearly:
“It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female. These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.”
The executive order gives a precise scientific definition of male and female and charges the various government departments with rewriting policies in accordance with this definition.
The extensive list of governmental actions that will have to be rescinded makes it clear just how much of “gender ideology extremism” has been governmentally created. The sexual state has been alive and well in this arena, as in so many other aspects of the sexual revolution.
Bishop Barron’s response to this executive order was very sound. Acting in his capacity as chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, he stated, “I welcome the President’s Executive Order prohibiting the promotion and federal funding of procedures that, based on a false understanding of human nature, attempt to change a child’s sex.”
He continued, “It is unacceptable that our children are encouraged to undergo destructive medical interventions instead of receiving access to authentic and bodily-unitive care. … Helping young people accept their bodies and their vocation as women and men is the true path of freedom and happiness.”
The strength of this statement is twofold. First, it is grounded in the Catholic Church’s deep understanding of human nature. Second, it answers the type of question the Church is especially equipped to answer.
