Page 10 - Michael 2024 May

u against the dignity of the person asking for it, even and that of others is crucial in light of the proliferation
if one would be thereby fulfilling the person’s wish: of claims to new rights advanced by gender theory.
“We must accompany people towards death, but This ideology “envisages a society without sexual
not provoke death or facilitate any form of suicide. differences, thereby eliminating the anthropological
Remember that the right to care and treatment for basis of the family.” (Pope Francis, Apost. Exhort.
all must always be prioritized so that the weakest, Amoris laetitia, no. 56.) It thus becomes unaccept-
particularly the elderly and the sick, are never re- able that “some ideologies of this sort, which seek to
jected. Life is a right, not death, which must be wel- respond to what are at times understandable aspira-
comed, not administered. And this ethical principle tions, manage to assert themselves as absolute and
concerns everyone, not just Christians or believers.” unquestionable, even dictating how children should
(Pope Francis, General Audience, February 9, 2022.) be raised. (Ibidem)…
As mentioned above, the dignity of each person, no Therefore, all attempts to obscure reference to
matter how weak or burdened by suffering, implies the ineliminable sexual difference between man and
the dignity of us all. woman are to be rejected: “We cannot separate the
Gender theory masculine and the feminine from God’s work of cre-
The Church highlights the definite critical issues ation, which is prior to all our decisions and experi-
present in gender theory. On this point, Pope Fran- ences, and where biological elements exist which
cis has reminded us that “the path to peace calls for are impossible to ignore.” Only by acknowledging
respect for human rights, in accordance with the and accepting this difference in reciprocity can each
simple yet clear formulation contained in the Uni- person fully discover themselves, their dignity, and
versal Declaration of Human Rights, whose seventy- their identity.
fifth anniversary we recently celebrated. These Sex change
principles are self-evident and commonly accepted. Teaching about the need to respect the natural
Regrettably, in recent decades, attempts have been order of the human person, Pope Francis affirmed
made to introduce new rights that are neither fully that “creation is prior to us and must be received
consistent with those originally defined nor always as a gift. At the same time, we are called to protect
acceptable. They have led to instances of ideologic- our humanity, and this means, in the first place,
al colonization, in which gender theory plays a cen- accepting it and respecting it as it was created.” It
tral role; the latter is extremely dangerous since it follows that any sex-change intervention, as a rule,
cancels differences in its claim to make everyone risks threatening the unique dignity the person has
equal.” (Address to Members of the Diplomatic received from the moment of conception. This is not
Corps Accredited to the Holy See, January 8, 2024.) to exclude the possibility that a person with genital
Regarding gender theory, whose scientific abnormalities that are already evident at birth or
coherence is the subject of considerable debate that develop later may choose to receive the assist-
among experts, the Church recalls that human life ance of healthcare professionals to resolve these
in all its dimensions, both physical and spiritual, is a abnormalities. However, in this case, such a medical
gift from God. This gift is to be accepted with grati- procedure would not constitute a sex change in the
tude and placed at the service of the good. Desir- sense intended here.
ing a personal self-determination, as gender theory Conclusion
prescribes, apart from this fundamental truth that With the present Declaration, ardently urges that
human life is a gift, amounts to a concession to the respect for the dignity of the human person beyond
age-old temptation to make oneself God, entering all circumstances be placed at the center of the com-
into competition with the true God of love revealed mitment to the common good and at the center of
to us in the Gospel. every legal system. Indeed, respect for the dignity of
Another prominent aspect of gender theory is each person is the indispensable basis for the exist-
that it intends to deny the greatest possible differ- ence of any society that claims to be founded on just
ence that exists between living beings: sexual dif- law and not on the force of power. Acknowledging
ference. This foundational difference is not only the human dignity forms the basis for upholding funda-
greatest imaginable difference but is also the most mental human rights, which precede and ground all
beautiful and most powerful of them. In the male-fe- civic coexistence. v
male couple, this difference achieves the most mar- Víctor Manuel Cardinal Fernández, Préfet
velous of reciprocities. It thus becomes the source
of that miracle that never ceases to surprise us: the
arrival of new human beings in the world. “A nation that kills its own children has no
In this sense, respect for both one’s own body future.” – Pope Saint John Paul II, 1996

10 MICHAEL May/June/July 2024 www.michaeljournal.org