Washington D.C., May 16, 2016 / 15:23 pm
As an alternative to the "deeply disturbing" new federal guidance on transgender regulations for schools, the U.S. bishops pointed to the words of Pope Francis in offering a positive path to young people.
"The guidance fails to address a number of important concerns and contradicts a basic understanding of human formation so well expressed by Pope Francis: that 'the young need to be helped to accept their own body as it was created'," the bishops said, quoting the words of Pope Francis in his 2016 exhortation, "Amoris Laetitia."
"Children, youth, and parents in these difficult situations deserve compassion, sensitivity, and respect," the bishops said. "All of these can be expressed without infringing on legitimate concerns about privacy and security on the part of the other young students and parents."
They said the new federal guidance "does not even attempt to achieve this balance." It ignores ongoing political and cultural discussion about how to address these sensitive issues and "short-circuits those discussions entirely."